Sr. Anne McCormack OLA
Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles
Tanzania
Sr.
Anne McCormack OLA , Missionary Sisters of Our
Lady of Apostles, works as project coordinator
for Bugisi Sunflower project located in
Shinyanga region, Tanzania.
Bugisi is a Roman Catholic Parish within
Shinyanga Rural District. Approximately 75% of
the population in the area are subsistence
farmers with small business enterprises,
teachers, cattle traders, and health facility
staff making up the remaining 25%.
The Sunflower Project was first introduced to
the area in 1995/6. The response was good and a
manual oil press was acquired. In a short time,
this proved inadequate for the numbers wishing
to use it. After initial unsatisfactory attempts
to transport the seeds elsewhere for processing,
it was decided to set up our own processing unit
in Bugisi. An electrically powered oil press was
purchased and the local community undertook to
build the facility for the Press. Initially
demand was slow but gradually it increased to
daily use, until due to increased demand, it was
necessary to purchase a second machine and,
since 2006, a third.
Having three machines in a building designed for
just one puts a strain on the workers. Annually
numbers are increasing as people become aware of
the profit in sunflowers and the nutritional
value of the oil itself. In peak season, around
six tonnes of seeds are processed daily. Most
users are village farmers who come with one sack
of seeds to process as they require or as their
budget allows.
The
aim of funding for this stage of the project was
to build a purpose built building and to install
bigger machines for the Bugisi sunflower
agro-industry. This directly addressed the
problem by: providing adequate space for the
increased numbers using the facility; installing
larger machines and reducing waiting time for
people; and developing a healthier and safer
environment for workers and customers alike.
To date, this project has proven its
sustainability by bringing in sufficient funds
to meet the daily running costs, eg, salaries,
purchase of spare parts, electricity bills,
general maintenance, and the purchase of new
machines. The project is sustainable from a
financial point of view and shows no signs of
changing in the future.
In fact it is a project that has great
possibilities for further growth and
development. This year, it seems that the
quantity of seeds being harvested will pass
anything we have seen to date. Even now people
are bringing groundnut and cucumber seeds. There
seems to be such an increase in available seeds
that we are presently going to investigate the
possibility of one of the oil factories buying
oil from us.