Tanzania loses sunflower industry boost for 2024 on stalled seed subsidy scheme
By FarmBizAfrica.com
Tanzania’s drive to industrialize its sunflower sector has stumbled for the 2023/2024 growing season on a deal to bulk-source high-yield seeds for the country’s one million sunflower farmers.
The deal, funded by the African Development Bank, was for 700 tonnes of hybrid seeds, to deliver yields and oil up to 65 percent percent greater than traditional varieties. The government planned to provide the seeds at subsidized prices for the growing season that began in October.
However, the supply has proved difficult to secure on a change of strategy around which hybrid seeds to use.
Tanzania has been investing heavily in sunflower processing to reduce its hefty edible oil imports, which account for between $90m and $250m a year. The government has also moved to introduc...