Growing demand for soya beans, an opportunity for farmers
In Nigeria today, the soya beans processing sector which has an estimated capacity of one million tonnes per annum is hampered by low production. The over 30% growth in the poultry industry in the last 10 years and expanding market for vegetable oil have increased the demand for the crop, which is also the best […]
In Nigeria today, the soya beans processing sector which has an estimated capacity of one million tonnes per annum is hampered by low production.
The over 30% growth in the poultry industry in the last 10 years and expanding market for vegetable oil have increased the demand for the crop, which is also the best alternative for animal nutrition in food consumption.
The main products from this crop are soybean oil and the high protein cake used as basic ingredient in poultry and other animal feeds.
Already, a poultry farmer, Lanre Carew, the CEO of Farm City Ltd, has raised an alarm that farmers are being affected because of the cost of soya beans and maize.
Apart from making oil and animal feeds, large quantities of soya beans are consumed by many households producing soya milk and cake called ‘awara’ in the North.
Many Nigerian vegetable oil producing firms go to neighbouring countries to buy soya beans to meet their industrial demands, paying higher prices in the process.
The crop has more than 36% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and excellent amounts of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. The 20% oil content of the crop makes it the most important crop for producing edible vegetable oil.
Soya bean also improves soil fertility by adding nitrogen from the atmosphere. This is a major benefit in African farming systems, where soils have become exhausted by the need to produce more food for increasing populations, and where fertilisers are expensive and hardly available for farmers.
Production
According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the annual production is estimated at 550,000 tonnes with an average yield of less than 1,000 kg/hectare.
The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) stated that more than 216 million tonnes of soya beans were produced worldwide in 2007, of which 1.5 million were in Africa.
IITA said: “In Nigeria, the haulms and post-processed pulp (soybean meal) serve as important sources of animal feed. A 30% annual growthin the poultry industry from 2003 to 2008 fuelled such a demand for soya beans meal that an increase in imports was required.”
Potential market for soya beans in Nigeria
Dr Lucky Omoigui, a plant breeder in the College of Agronomy, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM), told Daily Trust that the market for soybean in Nigeria is growing very fast.
There is a large demand now for soybean oil and the cake used for livestock feeds. With the rapid growth in the poultry industry, there is actually high demand for soya beans in Nigeria. Nigeria is the largest soya beans producer in sub-Saharan Africa with about 510,000 metric tonnes per annum.
Over the past seven years, soya beans production has expanded because of the rapid growth in the industrial sector that requires it.
IITA’s improved technology (seeds)
IITA researchers developed combined rust-resistant and high yielding varieties. Other varieties include low pod shattering and soil deficiency tolerance and resistance to frog-eye leaf spot, bacterial pustule and bacterial blight. They also developed efficient and rapid methods of evaluating rust-resistant varieties and new techniques to aid resistance breeding.
Soya beans planting date
Researchers from IITA, University of Maiduguri and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, led by I.Y. Dugje, said that soybean produces well over a wide range of planting dates, if moisture is available. The recommended dates for planting soybean in different ecological zones in Nigeria are: southern region could start planting by early June or early July while northern Nigeria starts in mid-June or early July.
They advised farmers not to plant too early because a prolonged dry spell after planting may result in permanent wilting of the crop and the need for replanting. Late planting, on the other hand, may expose the crop to attack by some late season pests and also deprive the crop of sufficient moisture if the rains stop early.