Marketing sunflower and sesame oil has not proven to be a problem in rural Tanzania. More project interventions are needed, however, to promote the effective use of the byproduct seedcake as a food supplement for livestock. The push towards product diversification is continuing. Although project efforts have concentrated mainly on the distribution and sale of ram presses, in 1997 the project staff also began technical and market testing of some new products, including groundnut shellers, peanut butter mills, coconut graters, and water pumps. Further activities to promote these technologies are pending the receipt of additional funding.
Women make up roughly half of all ram press users in Tanzania.
Promotion efforts included publications and a video. Over the past year, the project has produced promotional materials on sunflower farming, seedcake utilization, and ram press maintenance, all of which were sold to farmers at cost. Competition for pressing seed is increasing. Trade liberalization made it easier to import motorized expellers into Tanzania in 1998. Some of these expellers have been installed in areas previously served only by ram presses.