Browsing: sunflower farming in Tanzania

• The government of Tanzania is looking to make the country cooking oil self-sufficient by 2025, that is in just two years.
• ASA reports that it has 13 farms covering a total area of 16,588 hectares, but unfortunately, of these, only 12,731 hectares are suitable for farming.
• The deficit costs the country US$ 250 million every year in palm and other edible oil imports.

Tanzania is short of 650,000 metric tons which is over 60 percent of its requirements plugged by imports. Now the country wants investors to close this gap.

Speaking recently to farmers in South Tanzania, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa challenged local and foreign investors to see this demand gap as an investment opportunity.

The deficit costs the country US$ 250 million every year in palm and other edible oil imports, making the edible oil sector, the second-highest foreign exchange earner by the value of transactions.

“However, the government …

The programme aims at empowering extension officers who would, in turn, train farmers through expert guidance. Chemba district targets to produce 100,000 tonnes of sunflower in the 2022 season to increase the production of edible oil in the country.

President Samia’s administration has plans to improve cotton farming, among other crops. The government has taken measures to improve sunflower production through an increased budget allocation for the Agricultural Seed Authority, up from Tsh.5.42 billion (US$2.3 million) in 2020-2021 to Tsh.10.8 billion (US$4.7 million) in 2021-2022.

In 2021, the government boosted the capacity of the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) by providing Tsh.208billon (US$90 million) to the bank to reach more farmers and finance them. It also empowered the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) to purchase 95,000 tonnes of maize from farmers.…