ALIZETI USAWA THAMANI (ALUTA)
Donor
Agricultural Markets Development Trusts (AMDT) through Care International
Project location
Iringa and Njombe regions Tanzania
Summary details
ALUTA is a market development project, which aims at improving livelihoods and income of small-scale farmers, particularly women and youth, through facilitating strong linkages among actors within sunflower market systems. Sundy Merchants piloted its incubation program, a business model that aims at improving small-scale sunflower oil processors management and operations capacities in order to enhance their competitiveness and efficiency in the market. Through regular coaching and mentoring, processors improved their management practices with adoption of new skills, knowledge and technologies.
Implementation methodology
During the past one year, Sundy offered its services; business development services (BDS) through an incubation program where 32 sunflower oil processors in Njombe and Iringa regions benefited.
Services offered during the reporting period include participatory, action learning based training coupled with a study visit, facilitation of contractual arrangements with sunflower farmers, financial and marketing linkages.
Other services received by incubatees are support on business branding (company and products logo development, office record keeping and communicant materials branding e.g headed letter, invoices, receipts etc) , access to quality packaging materials, support on label printing, preparation of business plans, coaching and mentoring on various technical issues like application of financial management and record keeping tools, development of operational and managements systems,
project successes
Following our training and follow-up coaching Sunflower oil processors in Njombe and Iringa Sundy has seen tremendous changes and success stories among her incubatees.
- Sunflower processors have been linked to financial institutions.
- Operational and Business plans were developed for processors
- A number of processors have increased their production capacities and embraced modern machinery.
- All sunflower processors in incubation program have been sensitized and exposed on the importance business branding while more than half processors branded their products (product logo and label design, invoices and headed letters including developed company logo.
- A majority of the processors are complying with hygiene, although many of them have not yet started applying TFDA and TBS certificates.
- Sunflower processors were trained and exposed to good manufacturing practices (GMPs), including TFDA, TBS and NEMC requirements for their factories .
- Sundy has also been instrumental in the formation of regional processors associations in both Iringa and Njombe regions.