Promoting Locally Fortified Sunflower Oil Using E-Vouchers (CIFSRF Phase 2)

Tanzania, along with most African countries, has been struggling to address persistent nutritional challenges, including vitamin A and iron deficiencies. This project proposes to implement emerging technologies to improve the vitamin A status of women and children in two regions of the country: Manyara and Shinyanga. Food vouchers and fortified oil The Mennonite Economic Development Associates, through their Canadian headquarters and country office in Tanzania, will work with Tanzania's Sokoine University of Agriculture to implement the project. They will use fortified crude sunflower oil and electronic vouchers as tools to improve women's and children's health. How fortified foods and vouchers can help The Government of Tanzania announced plans to expand foods fortified with micronutrients as one of the measures to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. The project team's recent work suggests that crude sunflower oil maintains shelf life for more than 70 days when fortified with vitamin A. The project will verify shelf life findings. It will also build a sustainable business model to fortify oil at the local small- and medium-enterprise level. This will be done through an innovative electronic voucher system developed in Canada. The vouchers, transmitted through cell phone text messages, will deliver subsidies to vulnerable groups. They will target lactating mothers, while jumpstarting demand for fortified oil. Findings to improve health outcomes During the course of the project, subsidies will be systematically withdrawn to observe producers' and retailers' ability to sustain sales at market prices. The research team will track nutritional impacts through vitamin A status measurements. The project will provide evidence to support the private sector's potential to contribute to a well-nourished, food-secure society by providing sustainable access to vitamin A-fortified sunflower oil in rural Tanzania. It will also test whether electronic vouchers can promote fortified oil consumption, and whether that oil can reduce micronutrient deficiencies.

Project ID
107790
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
30 months
IDRC Officer
Annie Wesley
Total Funding
CA$ 3,818,068.00
Location
Tanzania
Programs
Agriculture and Food Security
Canadian International Food Security Research Fund
Institution Country
Canada
Project Leader
Nadira Saleh
Institution
Mennonite Economic Development Associates of Canada
Institution Website
https://www.meda.org
Institution Country
Tanzania
Project Leader
Theobald Mosha
Institution
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Institution Website
https://www.svanet.ac.tz

Outputs

Mise en valeur de l’huile de tournesol enrichie localement au moyen de bons d’échange électroniques : profil de projet

Mise en valeur de l’huile de tournesol enrichie localement au moyen de bons d’échange électroniques : profil de projet

Dossiers

Les chercheurs canadiens et tanzaniens tentent d’établir dans quelle mesure l’huile de tournesol enrichie de vitamine A peut contribuer à améliorer la nutrition. L’essai du produit et les bons d’échange électroniques visant à stimuler la demande contribueront à augmenter l’apport en vitamine A chez les femmes et les enfants présentant une carence élevée en micronutriments.

Author(s): Mosha, Theobold, Horton, Susan, Dixon, Thom

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Promoting locally fortified sunflower oil using e-vouchers : project profile

Promoting locally fortified sunflower oil using e-vouchers : project profile

Brief

The project will demonstrate how small- and medium-scale businesses can assist the government to reach nutritional policy goals in rural areas while stimulating the local economy. Results will inform planning interventions in Tanzania to address vitamin A deficiency and help to develop national food and nutrition policies. By enabling local processors to fortify unrefined sunflower oil with vitamin A, the research will measure how well consumption of this product improves diet and food security of rural Tanzanians. E-voucher discounts delivered by mobile phone to 65,000 lactating mothers will provide a temporary price incentive and help build a market for the product.

Author(s): Mosha, Theobold, Horton, Susan, Dixon, Thom

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Annex 2 : Research outputs

Annex 2 : Research outputs

Report

The study tested whether crude sunflower oil can be fortified for local consumption in contexts where inventory turnover is rapid and long shelf-life is not required; the use of electronic vouchers and sustainable business models; the reduction of micronutrient deficiencies in vulnerable groups, specifically lactating mothers and young children. This interim presentation from a stakeholder meeting reports on the project, and includes results from the oil storage stability study, the eVoucher data, comparisons of results on vitamin A deficiency, preliminary estimates of cost-effectiveness and sustainability of the business model.

Author(s): Horton, Susan, Saleh, Nadira, Mosha, Theobald

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CIFSRF final technical report : Promoting locally fortified sunflower oil using e-vouchers (CIFSRF Phase 2)

CIFSRF final technical report : Promoting locally fortified sunflower oil using e-vouchers (CIFSRF Phase 2)

Report

Promoting sunflower seed production is an important strategy in the Tanzanian National Development Plan, as is sunflower’s share of the edible oil market. A tariff placed on imported palm oil aims to protect development of the domestic industry. This project places emphasis on equipping small enterprises with the technology (stainless steel tanks) and assistance to include fortification in their production lines, as well as in navigating regulatory standards. Sunflower oil is locally produced and contributes to maternal and child health while creating local employment; whereas palm oil is grown in huge plantations primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Author(s): Horton, Susan, Saleh, Nadira, Mosha, Theobald

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Language: English

Huile essentielle : santé visuelle en Tanzanie

Articles de revue

Author(s): Letarte, Martine

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Promoting locally fortified sunflower oil in Tanzania : project story

Promoting locally fortified sunflower oil in Tanzania : project story

Brief

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have demonstrated for the first time that unrefined sunflower oil can be fortified on a small scale and can increase nutrition for the most vulnerable people, particularly lactating mothers and children. More than 142,000L of fortified sunflower oil was produced by SMEs and sold by a network of 319 retailers reaching nearly half a million people. The project supports Tanzania’s national food fortification policy, which is making fortification of edible oil mandatory. The results demonstrate how a locally produced crop, processed at local businesses and sold by local retailers can improve food security and stimulate local economic growth.

Author(s):

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Language: English

Annex 3 Gender tip sheet and stories

Annex 3 Gender tip sheet and stories

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The tip sheet is for participating enterprises and retailers to create awareness about gender issues related to the MASAVA project, which is implemented by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). Both male and female retailers are encouraged to inform clients about the benefits of fortified sunflower oil especially for children and lactating mothers. The challenge is to reach a target clientele who do not have purchasing power within their households. Recognizing that women are frequently the major drivers of economic and social change at the community level, MEDA specifically designs projects that directly target women and the unique obstacles they face.

Author(s): Horton, Susan, Mosha, Theobald, Saleh, Nadira

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Language: English

Addressing inequities in access to fortified sunflower oil - Costs of small, medium large-scale fortification in Tanzania

Addressing inequities in access to fortified sunflower oil - Costs of small, medium large-scale fortification in Tanzania

Report

Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) is attributed with 157,000 child deaths (6-59 months) globally each year (1). In Tanzania, VAD is considered a severe public health problem responsible for a high burden of the child mortality and morbidity.

The MASAVA project, in the Manyara and Shinyanga regions of Tanzania, works with small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sunflower oil processors and retailers to fortify and distribute sunflower oil with Vitamin-A to households vulnerable to VAD – particularly households with lactating women and young children. The goal of the project is to reduce the prevalence of VAD in these regions, 48% and 42% in 2010 respectively (2) by implementing a sustainable business model for vitamin A fortification in these regions between 2014 and 2017.

Author(s): Walters, Dylan, Ndau, Edna, Maseta, Elina, Saleh, Nadira, Mosha, Theobald Dr., Hornton, Susan Dr.

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Language: English

Masava project January 2017 Newsletter

Masava project January 2017 Newsletter

Report

The MASAVA project promotes the production of sunflower oil manufacturing, fortifying and marketing in Tanzania. An “e-Voucher” platform allowed the MASAVA team to easily provision, track and analyze market behaviour. Now an “e-Wallet” cash voucher system has been implemented which has increased purchase volume. Fluctuations in the seed market create challenges. This issue of “MASAVA News” provides an overview of the ongoing project. Sunflower oil is locally produced and contributes to maternal and child health while creating local employment, whereas palm oil is grown in huge plantations primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Author(s):

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Language: English

Masava leveraging the private sector to go the last mile to combat Vitamin A deficiency

Masava leveraging the private sector to go the last mile to combat Vitamin A deficiency

Report

Masava distributes to Manyara and Shinyanga, regions with some of the highest prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in Tanzania.

Author(s): masava.org

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Language: English