Processing plants in the offing

What you need to know:
- The Deputy Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled, Mr Anthony Mavunde, told residents that the two factories would play a key role in reviving the agriculture sector in the region.
The government is expected to establish big sunflower and maize processing industries in the country’s capital, Dodoma, by November, this year.
The Deputy Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled, Mr Anthony Mavunde, told residents that the two factories would play a key role in reviving the agriculture sector in the region.
He said despite being a crucial zone for cultivation of maize and sunflower, farmers in the region were yet to benefit accordingly due to the absence of relevant industries.
“The fifth phase government is determined to establish a number of factories in all economic zones across the country so as to ensure that Tanzania become a full industrialized country come 2020,” he said. He said preparations for the establishment of the two factories had already started, urging farmers and traders in the central zone corridor to prepare for seizing different economic opportunities.
For his part, the chairman of the Tanzania Sunflower Oil Processors Association (Tasupa), Mr Ringo Iringo, said the envisaged project would play a vital role in boosting sunflower oil production in the central zone.
“Recently sunflower oil processors in the Central Zone corridor struck a business joint venture deal with the Indian-based Solvent Extractors Association (SEA). With the expected new factory, sunflower growers and oil processors will stand a better chance to enhance their production,” he said.
For years, Dodoma’s economy used only to rely on small-scale businesses and domestic pastoralism, albeit with less profit as it receives inadequate rains annually, a situation that impedes farmers relying on agriculture, as only 1,328,757 out of 2,699,217 hectares of the region’s arable land is tilled.
According to information available at the regional commissioner’s office, in 2010 the region GDP stood at sh1, 024, and 651 and climbed to at least sh1, 385, and 962 by 2012. The regions’ per capital which was Sh485, 211 in 2010 grew to sh665, 180 in 2012.
Presently, the region is with only few small-scale industries based on producing sunflower oil, grapes wine, baobab oil, breads, fresh and condensed milk, honey and peanut butter.