Sweden assesses the sunflower oil market in preparation of activities in the agriculture sector

• SUNFLOWER PLANTATION PHOTO: SWISS AGENCY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION (SDC) - RURAL LIVELIHOOD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (RLDC)

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This September, the Embassy of Sweden launched the Sunflower Oil Market Assessment in preparation of activities under the Agricultural Markets Development Trust (AMDT).

A team of consultants, accompanied by Jwani Jube, Program Officer for Private Sector Development at the Embassy, visited stakeholders in the sunflower value chain in Arusha, Morogoro, Iringa, Dodoma, Singida and Dar es Salaam regions. Groups of stakeholders consulted include large, medium and small scale processors; producers; associations; research and academic institutions; private sector input suppliers; government ministries; financial institutions; NGOs and development partners engaged in the value chain.

Despite the challenges observed in the sunflower value chain, the subsector is growing with increased engagement from the private sector and emerging collaborations between different stakeholders. The subsector has a high potential for income generation and job creation among Tanzanian smallholder farmers and SMEs.

In mid-2014 the Embassies of Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Ireland through their respective agencies jointly established AMDT. As a locally incorporated Trust, AMDT aims to support better coordination in agricultural value chains; enhance and improve the understanding of agricultural market systems; improve productivity and market access for micro, small and medium enterprises; and maximize the impact of various programmes in order to effectively contribute to poverty reduction in Tanzania.

The Trust will play two key functions:

1. Provision of strategic advice to all key value chain actors to address barriers to investment and participation in markets by the poor; and

1. Facilitation of strategic value chain interventions including diagnosis of market barriers and constrains and formulation and financing interventions that address them.

Sunflower is among the three priority crops for AMDT’s work. Other crops include maize and pulses. Additional crops and subsectors in agriculture will be included in the Trust’s future work.

Findings from the Sunflower Oil Market Assessment will support AMDT in defining how best to structure and target its support and investment to address specific barriers in the value chain. 

AMDT’s work falls under the first result area for Sweden’s 2013-2019 Results Strategy in Tanzania. Under the new strategy Sweden aims to contribute to the development of agricultural markets with a target of increasing employment opportunities and incomes of the poor, particularly women and youth.