Case of Ramadhani Sanda
Ramadhan Sanda is a spice farmer in Kinole village who is a member of the MMO Viungo farmer’s group. He is 66 years old, has one wife, and has nine (9) children. He got involved in growing spices after he joined the MMO group in 2017, so far they have been collaborating with Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) on the Uluguru Spice Project (USP), and in 2021, the MMO Farmer group was among the 23 other farmers groups selected to implement Internal control System (ICS).
His main source of income is agriculture. He currently has 4 acres of intercropped spices under cultivation, including cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and black pepper.
Ramadhan Sanda has experience in organic agriculture and he has been producing organic spices in the Uluguru Mountains since 2017 which led him to be one of the best spice producers under the USP project.
He stated, “I have been participating in a number of courses and trainings about the production of organic spices, both inside and outside the farmer’s group, which were arranged by SAT.”
Therefore, through the farmer’s group, he qualified to be a spice producer under the internal control system (ICS). According to Ramadhan Sanda, ICS is the system that shows they are real spice producers because it encourages farmers to produce organically.
He goes on to say that the system enabled him to be a diligent farmer who produced in accordance with ICS standards. The system benefits farmers greatly since it increases productivity through improved farm management, quality enhancement, and post-harvest handling.
Ramadhani benefits from the lucrative market of his organic produce as in 2021 he sold over 400 Kg of black pepper to SAT Holistic group Ltd at a premium price.
The USP Project is kindly supported by Austrian Development Agency, Land Voralberg, and Fester Foundation.
