CPB to build sunflower plant at suburban Kizota area

IN a bid to increase production of sunflower oil, the Cereals and other Produce Board of Tanzania (CPB) plans to establish a sunflower oil industry capable of churning out some 15,000 tonnes of sunflower seeds a day.

CPB acting Director General, Mr John Maige, noted here over the weekend that CPB would put up the sunflower oil plant at Kizota area within Dodoma municipality and that the sunflower processing machines would arrive from Greece in May.

“Plans are also underway to install a maize-milling plant at Kizota area with capacity to grind some five tonnes of maize a day,” says the CPB acting CEO. Mr Maige pointed out the plant would provide sunflower farmers with a reliable market and that would also promote sunflower farming within the Central Zone regions of Dodoma and Singida.

Mr Maige observed that while maize milling machine would start off with 60 tonnes of milled maize a day, the sunflower oil plant would begin with 20 tonnes of processed sunflower seeds a day.

He said CPB had begun mobilising farmers within central and neighbouring regions over economic opportunities that would come with reliable markets for sunflower products after the plants were fully operational. Mr Maige said CPB had teamed up with key stakeholders in agricultural sector in mobilising farmers, citing the Ministry of Agriculture and financial institutions as some of its key partners.

He said some financial institutions were ready to provide farmers with loans in order to improve sunflower productivity, and that the financial institutions would provide soft loans to those meeting their financial terms. “We appeal to farmers to form associations in order to qualify for the loans … and hence raise the level of sunflower productivity,” he observed.