Improving Quality of Tanzanian Sunflower Seeds

The demand for sunflower seeds and sunflower products has been rising over the last few years. Most of the sunflower production comes from Europe, namely Ukraine and Romania. Around 5.5% of the production comes from Africa, where Tanzania is the main producer of the seed. Reports vary, but it is estimated that the country produces over 800K metric tons per year.

Tanzania has the potential to be a competitive supplier of sunflower seeds. According to Sabayi Investment Ltd, the infrastructure is well developed, with many roads connecting farms to the port of Dar es Salaam. Furthermore, most sunflower seeds are produced without the use of pesticides, qualifying them to be organically certified. Tanzania has also improved its packaging, using clear plastic bags to ensure the product is clean. Finally, the price of Tanzania sunflower seeds is very low, around 526 USD per ton.

Despite this potential, Tanzania is not yet a big exporter of sunflower seeds. This is mainly due to the fact that the country needs a domestic supply of the sunflower seeds to make its own cooking oils, as that is the second most imported commodity, after fuel. Currently, the main markets for Tanzanian sunflower seeds are processors in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and even Singapore.

Another reason why few seeds are exported is the under-utilization of high-quality seeds when growing sunflowers. Even though Tanzania is one of the main sunflower seed producers in Africa, its yield is quite low. Moreover, traditional Tanzanian sunflower seeds do not yield a lot of sunflower oil, which is highly sought-after by importers. According to Sabayi Investment Ltd, “most farmers, the majority of whom are smallholders, do not use quality seeds but rely on their own recycled or uncertified seeds.” These traditional seeds only yield around 5.3 kg of crude oil per 20 kg of seeds.

The Tanzanian government has now invested in high-quality hybrid seeds, which would yield 6.5 kg of oil per 20 kg of seeds. Furthermore, hybrid seeds also yield more seeds per acre. The traditional seeds produce around 6 sacks of sunflower seeds per acre, whereas the hybrid seeds produce around 16 sacks per acre. The government is working on educating farmers on the proper farming techniques for this seed. To this end, the Tanzanian government has established Farm Field schools, which also teach farmers how to implement GAP. All these efforts by the government have led to fruitful results: “there are now three improved seed varieties that have a high yield, developed by Tanzania’s Agricultural Research Institute, and one foreign improved variety, the Indian Hysun 33, that has a high oil content,” stated Sabayi Investment Ltd.