Tanzania Boost Sunflower Industry With TZS 3.5 Bn

The Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) has recently handed over a check for TZS 1.3 billion to 458 Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Societies (AMCOS) in the Singida Region for sunflower agriculture projects.

The financing is part of a total of TZS 3.5 billion the bank has approved to support agricultural projects in the central Tanzanian Region.

The remaining TZS 2.2 billion will be used for the construction of a sunflower factory plant to be built in the Manyoni District in Singida.

During the handover ceremony, the Vice-President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan, congratulated the Bank for its effort in assisting small-scale farmers in the country to increase agricultural production and income generation.

For his part, TADB’s Director of Credit and Business Augustino Matutu Chacha, commented that the Bank recognizes sunflower as one of the most important crop products for the Tanzanian economy and especially for the Singida Region.

He added that the Bank’s strategy is to continue to help farmers increase the quality of sunflower production and help local industries obtain raw materials.

Tanzania Sunflower
Tanzania is one of the top ten sunflower oilseed producers in the world, with an annual output of around 350,000 tons of sunflower oilseeds, corresponding to about 90,000 tons of oil (UNIDO’s data).

Sunflowers are grown all over the country, mostly by small-scale farmers.

Therefore the development of the sunflower oil sector has a great potential for improving livelihoods and the welfare of relatively poorer households.