Unlocking the Sunflower Promise: Strategic Pathways for Competitive Production and Marketing in Central Tanzania

Abstract

Sunflower, Tanzania's leading oilseed crop, is held back not by a single technical shortcoming but by the way production, processing, marketing, and consumption are often treated as separate concerns. Viewed through value-chain upgrading theory, collective-action theory and resilience thinking, the evidence suggests that a competitive and inclusive sunflower sub-sector depends on coordinating interventions and introducing them in a practical sequence. This paper draws on a mixed-methods value chain study undertaken between October and December 2025 in Kondoa, Mpwapwa, Manyoni and Singida districts of Central Tanzania. Frequencies, percentages and cross-tabulations were generated from responses provided by 379 farmers, processors, traders and consumers. Evidence from eight focus group discussions (FGDs) and 12 key informant interviews (KIIs) was then used to explain the constraints encountered in practice and the priorities stakeholders expressed. Findings show the sub-sector has strong potential for smallholder incomes, rural processing, and edible oil supply, but is constrained by low productivity, weak extension services, inadequate finance, underutilised processing capacity, price instability, limited market information, and inconsistent quality assurance. The paper assesses whether contract farming alone can resolve these problems: the evidence shows it cannot and must instead be embedded within farmer organisation, market information, and finance reforms. It proposes a sequenced, five-pillar strategy: productivity upgrading, market coordination, processing upgrading, consumer-market development, and investment and finance, coordinated through district-level, multi-stakeholder platforms aligned with Tanzania's National Edible Oil Strategy (2026–2035). It concludes that the sunflower promise can be unlocked when policy, private investment, producer organisations, and collective action are aligned around inclusive, competitive value-chain development. Keywords: Sunflower value chain; Strategic upgrading; Collective action; Contract farming