SUNFLOWER farming and agribusiness in general has been practised for a long time in many parts of Rukwa Region as a means of income generation and poverty alleviation for most farmers and other agribusiness actors operating within the region.
However, the sunflower market system players from both direct market players such as farmers, processors and consumers as well as service providers such as agro-dealers and financial institutions, have been facing several policy and regulatory issues.
Plus, unfriendly operational practices that challenge the sunflower productivity and production, processing and trade as well as service provision.
These challenges called for establishment of Rukwa Regional Sunflower Innovative Platform (RUSIP) famously known as (JUWARU) that would enable all sunflower market system stakeholders to meet, assess the systemic challenges and suggest solutions to them so as to create a conducive business environment for sunflower stakeholders to smoothly and competitively operate in the region.
The Netherland Development organisation – SNV Tanzania through Transforming Agriculture Markets (TAM) project, is working on sunflower market systems in Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi regions with the aim of making policies work for the poor at the local levels.
Based on the needs of the stakeholders of the sunflower market system in the project areas, the TAM project is committed to ensuring that the desire of the stakeholders of having a regional platform is realised.
Policy Advisor – Transforming Agricultural Markets (TAM), Mr Renatus Mbamilo, told “Daily News” in an exclusive interview that the establishment of the platform was one of the major activities of the project which is implemented by the SNV Tanzania through TAM project.
According to Mr Mbamilo, TAM project under Accountability Programme Phase II is managed by KPMG Advisory Tanzania and funded by the government of the United Kingdom through Department For International Development (UKDFID) under its sister agency called UKAID.
Mr Mbamilo further explained that SNV Global team of local and international advisors work with local partners to facilitate and empower them in order to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own developments by sharing with them the nec- essary tools, knowledge and connections they need to increase their incomes and gain access to basic services.
Speaking on the establishment of JUWARU, Ms Lydia Ruliho, a sunflower farmer and the RUSIP’s chairperson, said the platform was very important for sunflower stakeholders because it facilitates dialogue and understanding among them, and provide a space to create a common vision and mutual trust.
“It also enables partners to identify the bottlenecks hindering innovation, and develop solutions beyond what individual actors could achieve alone; and also the platform creates motivation and a feeling of ownership of the solutions that the stakeholders develop because normally people buy into solutions they have been involved in developing them,” Ms Ruliho said.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Tanzania Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (TCCIA)’s Rukwa Regional Secretary, Mr John Msabaha, that the establishment of the platform would also match the government’s policy which is aimed at making Tanzania a mid-economy country through industrialisation.
Mr Christopher Nyato, a medium scale sunflower farmer cultivating over 75 acres at Zimba village in Lake Rukwa Valley in Sumbawanga District, who is also a vice chairperson of RUSIP, notes that there are challenges regarding the sustainability of the platform but the leadership has taken steps to make the platform sustainable, including preparation of its strategic plan which guides platform’s implementation.
“The platform has coordinators from Regional Secretariat and Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Trade representing the private sector who from time to time ignite the platform’s motivation, established resources mobilisation mechanisms and asks the Regional Commissioner to be a patron of the platform,” he added.
Acting Head of the Economic and Productive Sectors Section in Rukwa Regional Secretariat, Mr Ocran Chengula, told ‘Daily News’ that the process of establishing the platform started as a result of efforts of sunflower stakeholders who were anxious to join forces that would enable them to identify different opportunities grounded in the sector within and outside Rukwa region as well as challenges facing the sector and discuss how to address them.
He added that the TAM project intervened by supporting the sunflower market system stakeholders in Rukwa to form a small team with wider representation of stakeholders which started developing the strategic plan the work that started in August 2019.
The Rukwa Regional Commissioner (RC) Joachim Wangabo will launchthe platform early this year.
