• How is palm oil produced in Africa?
  • Palm oil production in Africa and especially in Tanzania is dominated by small-scale subsistence farming systems that are characterised by low productivity and low yields, even in regions with the most suitable cultivation conditions.
  • What are the basic operations associated with palm oil processing?
  • The basic unit operations associated with palm oil processing include fruit sterilization, fruit loosening/stripping, digestion, oil extraction and clarification. Fruit sterilization denotes heat rendering and moisture absorption. The aim is to inactivate the lipolytic enzymes in the fruit mesocarp.
  • Does Tanzania need to import oil palm seeds from abroad?
  • Oil palm experts advise that, Tanzania doesn¡¯t need to import seeds from abroad as we have the best parent stock. In total, Tanzania requires some 20,377,500 Tenera plants in order to produce the required 570,000 MT of edible oil through palm oil value chain. This is a huge number of oil palm trees needed in the country.
  • What are the different methods of palm oil processing?
  • They are the traditional methods, small-scale mechanical units, medium-scale mills and large industrial mills (Poku, 2002). The basic unit operations associated with palm oil processing include fruit sterilization, fruit loosening/stripping, digestion, oil extraction and clarification.
  • What is the production of palm oil in Kigoma?
  • It was shown that the production of palm oil in Kigoma depends on the productivity of oil palms aged over 30 years (>75 % of oil palm) and on the variety dura (>75 % of all oil palms are either bengezas or juwe varieties) (Table 2 ). Table 2 Specific share of age and varieties in the villages of Kagongo and Ilagala (in %) (N = entries)
  • How many litres of oil a year does a palm plant produce?
  • Similar low productivity levels have been reported for oil palm in Kigoma and Mbeya, whereby under current farming conditions one Dura plant yields 7-8 litres of palm oil/year; and, a plant of Tenera yields 28 litres/year. As for avocados, there is no single company in Tanzania which processes avocados to produce edible oils.