SDM Case Study: Rungwe and Busokelo Tea Cooperative Joint Enterprise, Tanzania

Rungwe and Busokelo Tea Cooperative Joint Enterprise (RBTC-JE) has the vision to socially and economically empower tea growing communities of Rungwe district in Tanzania, while substantially contributing to national prosperity for improved and sustainable livelihood.

RBTC-JE is a cooperative society formally registered in 2019 with over 14,000 farmer members in Rungwe district. RBTC-JE facilitates marketing of green leaf tea to Wakulima Tea Company (WATCO), which guarantees full offtake of the green leaf from RBTC-JE farmers.

RBTC-JE is looking to double the incomes of the farmers in 3 years and increase their resilience while tapping into the growing demand of quality green leaf. However, the smallholder tea value chain in Rungwe district is characterized by low green leaf yields and quality; limited smallholder access to services, finance, and markets; limited tea farming land; and potential climatic changes such as change in frequency of rainfall leading to droughts. All these factors have resulted in the historical low incomes for smallholder tea farmers, which RBTC is seeking to improve.

This study sets out the most important recommendations for RBTC-JE to sustainably scale up its service delivery model (SDM) in a cost-efficient and effective way, in line with its growth and strategic ambitions.