Tanzania Now Tops Africa For Sunflower Production
By Senior Reporter, VALENTINE OFORO
TANZANIA has successfully managed to advance from the second position in the production of sunflower within African continent to the first positions since June 2023.
The development has been propelled due to efforts by the government to implement viable strategies to elevate performance of the sub- sector, including opening windows for the private sector to chin – in the sub- sector, especially in seeds production area.
Giving an exclusive interview to this publication, the National Coordinator for Sunflower Crop Research, Frank Reuben said the edible- oil raw crop is now cultivated in all regions across the country, except Dar es Salaam.
The coordinator, who works at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) Morogoro -based Ilonga Centre said Singida, Dodoma and Manyara regions are the leading areas for production, followed by Iringa, Njombe and Mbeya.
“The farmers in all regions are growing sunflower at different levels, and the sub- sector keeps on attracting a record number of farmers,” he said.
Currently, he said they’re at least 1.6 million farmers cultivation the crop under a total of 800,000 households within the country.
The currently high impetus among the farmers to venture into the sub- sector, according to him, is being triggered by concerted efforts by the government to hatch and disseminate improved technologies in seeds production, as well as processing and addition value chain.
For instance, he said, in Singida, Dodoma and Manyara regions there are a total of over 800 edible oil processing plants, brining the total number across the country to over 1000.
To ensure enough production and availability of improved seeds to farmers, Reuben said the government was applying the approach of public private partnership (PPP).
“Currently, TARI, as the state- owned seeds research institute is working in sync with the Agricultural Markets Development Trust (AMDT), and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa AGRA to assist the companies in the private sector to produce certified sunflower seeds,” he said.
Through the well- established system, he said AMDT and AGRA are bankrolling the government through TARI, to empower private sector’s companies to multiply the sunflower seeds.
“As per the project’s design, TARI is producing basic and pre-basic seeds, and through cooperation with the Tanzania Official Seeds Certification Institute (TOSCI) the seeds are channelled to the companies in the private sector for the production of certified seeds, certified one and two, and later production of the quality declared seeds (QDS)”, he said.
He said the value chain in the production of the sunflower seeds, apart from heightening production and availability, also helps to create employment opportunities to a number of the stakeholders in the sub- sector.
He said production of the QDS seeds, which are primarily being produced by the leader farmers, have so far played good role to help farmers in remote areas to get the seeds and thus, improving production and productivity.
Since 2021 agricultural season, he said demand for sunflower seeds in Tanzania generally stands at 15,000 tons.
“But this demand of 15,000 tons is only if the farmers will manage to cultivate the crop at a total of 980,000 hectares suitable for for the growth across the country,” he said.
He said effective demand for the seeds is estimated at 5000 tons, saying the government was at good pace to attain the tonnages, though unveiled the country was not experiencing any tall seeds shortages.
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