Soybean Production, Constraints, and Future Prospects in Poorer Countries: A Review

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine patterns of soybean production, constraints, and possible solutions in poorer countries such as Southern African countries. It was observed that the success of soybean in top-producing countries was characterized by large acreage of land, with a good supply of inputs coupled with intensive management and access to competitive markets. Africa is a minor player in the soybean industry as it supplies less than 1% of the world’s soybeans. Because the crop is not for direct household consumption, it is produced on a small-scale and treated as a zero inputs crop. This has resulted in a persistent yield gap, with levels reaching only a third of those obtained in developed countries. There is under-usage of inputs such as irrigation, fertilizers, and improved seed. There is need for a definite shift from small to large-scale production. Limited access to inputs, poor adoption of technologies and restricted markets usually also compromise production. The global demand for soybean due to a growing feed industry, biodiesel, industrial demand, and bias for plant-based protein, is going upwards. New soybean frontiers will likely be present in future, and countries whose production levels lag could take advantage of this situation.

1. Introduction

Soybean (Glycine max) is an economically important oilseed crop with a high protein (40%), high oil content (20%), and of good nutritional quality [1]. It is a non-native and non-staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa with potential to become a commercial crop owing to its wide range of uses such as food, feed, and as an industrial raw material [2, 3]. After palm oil, soybean oil is the most consumed cooking oil in the world, being also a major export good. The overall sector can have a total retail market value of around USD 146.23 billion [2].

This study will examine production patterns of soybean in poorer countries in contrast to top-producing countries and will discuss the constraints and limitations to soybean production in poorer countries such as those in Southern Africa and suggest their possible solutions. Some of the uses of the crop will also be elaborated.

2. Global production and consumption

Top production of soybean is mainly reported in the United States, Brazil, and Argentina, with India ranking fourth so far [4]. The best three countries together account for 80% of total production and they dominate world exports [5]. United States of America, Brazil, Argentina, China, India, Paraguay, Canada, Ukraine, Russia, and Bolivia are among the top 10 soybean producers globally [6].

Brazil emerges as one of the leading countries in soybean production because it has a significant amount of usable and relatively inexpensive land coupled with yield growth while production in the USA is driven predominantly by yield growth since the 80’s, Table 1 [4]. Soybeans in the USA is also known for its good quality regarding protein content as compared other countries hence its usual good price [9]. China imports the largest quantities of soybean (USD 38.1 billion) followed by the Europe Union which imports mainly soymeal and cake for feed for livestock and soybean oil to produce biodiesel [5].

Area	Country	Area harvested 2019 (million ha)	Yield 2019 (t/ha)	2018 Production million tons	2019 Production million tons	2020 Production million tons
International	USA	35.45	3.40	120.51	96.67	112.55
	Brazil	35.90	3.36	117.91	114.32	121.80
	Argentina	16.60	3.33	37.79	55.26	48.80
	Canada	2.54	2.86	7.42	6.15	6.36
	India	11.33	0.96	10.93	13.26	11.023
Africa	South Africa	0.73	1.60	1.54	1.17	1.25
	Zambia	0.19	1.58	0.30	0.28	0.30
	Nigeria	1.00	1.05	0.66	0.70	0.60
	Malawi	0.06	0.4	0.18	0.17	0.18
	Ghana	0.05	0.60	0.18	0.18	0.18

Table 1.

World production, yield, and acreage for the African producers from 2018 to 2019 against top international producers [7, 8].

The introduction of herbicide-resistant, genetically modified (GM) soybeans has also allowed for increased productivity levels and a smaller workforce, enabling the crop’s rapid expansion. More than 80% of soybean varieties are genetically modified and given this inherent resistance, they survive better under chemical control of weeds, especially on large scales, and this contributes to better crop yields [5]. According to reports by Debnath and Babu [2], the adoption of genetically modified technology increases yields by an average of 22% relative to traditional varieties.

3. Production in Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

In Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, however, there is very little or no significant growth of production of the soybean crop despite its value and important uses and benefits [10]. Southern Africa is one of the regions where the human population increases faster than food production and food insecurity is also a major concern. African producers supply less than 1% of the world’s soybeans (Table 1) [7, 8].

African production levels are rising 48% fast, at a rate of 6.84% per year, although this mostly results from an increase in area under the crop and not from yield [7, 8]. Major production is concentrated in South Africa, which is the leading producer in Africa, contributing about 35% of the total production, followed by Nigeria (27%), Zambia and Uganda (85%) [8]. Other Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, including Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ghana, Sudan, and Ethiopia, have also experienced sizeable commercial soybean expansion [10]. Outside of these countries, there is very little soybean production in the rest of SSA [11]. Cereals, such as maize (Zea mays), millet (Panicum spp.), rice (Oryza sativa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and wheat (Triticum aestivum) are also important crops with regard to calorie intake in Southern Africa [10].

Because soybean is usually not for direct household consumption, it is grown as a secondary crop and this makes it not thrive under subsistence settings [12]. The African continent still has to significantly increase the area under soybean crop and make use of underutilized land to its benefit [10]. The major factors that are expected to drive soybean production include land availability, the investment by private equities, international developmental organizations and banks in corporate farms, growth of the poultry market, growing bias towards plant based protein, and increasing household consumption [13].

Protein deficiency exacts a greater toll from infants, children, and pregnant and lactating women in the Southern African region, than anywhere else in the world, partially because starchy foods are widely consumed and animal protein often is too expensive and out of reach for low-income families. The region accounts for 38 and 27% of global child stunting and wasting, respectively [14]. Soybean has a potential to economically and nutritionally transform African economies and some of the countries actually share similar agro-climatic conditions with countries like Argentina and Brazil [15].

4. Uses of soybean

As the list of its uses continues to expand, soybean may potentially play a role in food globalization among crops like maize, wheat, rice, and potato. Besides its role in the food industry, it is important in the feeds, biodiesel, and other industrial uses as well as improvement of soil nutrients and structure. Its many uses contribute to its widespread production [16]. This section will describe some of the important uses of soybean.

4.1 Soybean-derived foodstuffs

Soybean can be processed into soy milk, a valuable protein supplement in infant feeds and the milk can be processed into curds and cheese [17]. Soybean seed yields edible, semi-drying oil, used as salad oil and also for manufacturing margarine and shortening [13]. Soy foods such as miso, tempeh, and soy sauce are derived either directly from the whole fresh bean or after processing of the bean into soymilk and are consumed either in fermented or non-fermented form. In the recent past, the range of soy foods has expanded to include fresh beans and sprouts, and grain products such as pasta and flour, meat substitutes, and soy spreads and pastes, baked goods, snack bars, noodles, and infant formula [11, 16]. Soybean can be used blended with maize and wheat flour as a source of protein with about 20% oil. Mechanically pressed meal provides low-fat flour with 5–6% oil, and solvent-extracted meal gives defatted flour with about 1% oil [16].

Soybean is used in dietetic foods and in novel products, such as tofu-based ice cream and soybean yogurt. Studies associate the soybean consumption of phytoestrogen-rich diets typical of soybean with a lower risk of lifestyle diseases such as coronary heart diseases, osteoporosis, hormone-dependent forms of cancer, and menopausal symptoms. Soy protein is a primary component in meat analogues consumed by people who prefer foods that are animal-free or lower in saturated fat [16, 17].

4.2 Feeds

The major processed soybean product globally is soybean meal [18]. In Africa, the demand for soybean has increased, driven by the growing feed industry for poultry and aquaculture. The vegetative portions of plants are used for silage, hay, pasture or as fodder [13, 16]. Soy products, like soy cake and full fat soy is increasingly used as substitutes for fishmeal in feed rations because it is cheaper. Soy oilcake is mainly imported from Argentina and then mixed with soy-oil and nutrients to compose a balanced feed ration. These feed rations are cheaper than a ration consisting of full fat soybeans but, however do not give the same performance of production [9]. Soy meal is a very rich protein feed for livestock and it has an increasing demand [17].

4.3 Biodiesel and other and industrial uses

A small but growing proportion of soybean oil is used as a feedstock for biofuel production, but soybean is rarely cultivated with this as the core objective [18]. Industrially, the oil is important in the production of paints and candle wax. It is also used is in the manufacturing of paints, linoleum, oilcloth, printing inks, soap, insecticides, and disinfectants [17]. The straw is used to make paper stiffer than that made from wheat straw.

4.4 Improvement of soil nutrients and structure

Soybean straw may be plowed back into the soil as a green manure [17]. In low-input inter-cropping systems, the crop is known to improve soil properties, through nitrogen fixation and enhanced moisture retention. The combination of improved soil properties and the ability to break lifecycles of pests and diseases makes soybean an ideal crop in cereal rotation programs [1]. This advantage is especially important for crop production in Africa due to the economic limitations in the use of fertilizers. Besides socioeconomic benefits, soybean and associated Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium microbes contribute to nitrogen fixation in soils. Nitrogen fertilization is tremendously expensive and pauses ecological risks, such as water eutrophication and the emission of greenhouse gases, that contribute to global warming [11].

5. Production constraints and solutions

5.1 Yield gap

Among the constraints faced in the production of soybean, there is a substantial yield gap between the developed and developing countries and it is persistent among Sub-Saharan African farmers [2]. The average soybean yield has stagnated at 1.1 t ha⁻¹ in SSA in contrast to the world average of 2.4 t ha⁻¹. This yield gap is primarily due to the under-usage of modern inputs in developing countries. Sub-Saharan Africa imports substantial volumes of processed soybean in the form of oil and cake for animal feed to fill the gaps. As a net importer, Africa is exposed to rising global prices for soybean, oil, and cake.

Yield gaps are not unique for only soybean as they also exist for staple cereal crops like maize and a number of other crops grown under smallholder and subsistence setups [11]. There are a number of constraints that account for yield gaps, such as resource availability, economic issues such as inflation, gender disparities, accessible markets, etc. These may have resulted in limiting farmers in this region from becoming major players in producing soybean [10, 19]. Solving technical issues and taking measures to close the yield gap may go a long way to improve production levels [20].

5.2 Fertilizer usage

One way to close the yield gap is making sure farmers access fertilizer and other inputs. Technical issues such as access to fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, seem to linger for all for farmers from small to large scale farmers, across different countries. It is the capabilities to solve these problems and that vary at different levels. Due to limited access to farming resources, smallholder farmers are more likely to farm on poor quality soil and are often plagued by low crop yields [19]. On the other hand, mere provision of free inputs to smallholder farmers attracts unscrupulous players who end up creating black market of the inputs. A farmer that approaches a bank for an inputs loan or a machinery loan may go a long way in carrying out significant production as compared to one who gets invited for free inputs.

Legumes, such as soybean have a high phosphorus (P) requirement for growth and also for nodulation and nitrogen fixation. Low soil phosphorus may contribute to the poor survival of some rhizobial strains [21]. Low phosphorus availability is liable to limit soybean yield on many highly degraded soils in the tropics, even though the external P requirements of soybean are lower than those of some other legumes. It is reported generally that the longer the P is in contact with the soil, the greater the fixation that occurs [12]. If planting is being done on virgin land, inoculation of the seed with Bradyrhizobium japonicum should be carried out to enable the crop to fix its own nitrogen through the action of this bacterium in the root nodules [22]. For annual crops such as soybean, P application, 2 weeks after planting is recommended [21].

The flowering stage of soybean requires huge amounts of fertilization for successful seed set. Once the soybean begins to flower, it takes large quantities on nutrients from the soil especially phosphorous and potassium [12, 23]. Abortion of flowers happens a lot in soybean and numerous flowers easily get lost due to limited fertility among other factors. The oversight some farmers make, is to plant soybean after maize and not apply sufficient amounts of phosphorus and potassium hoping there will be sufficient fertility for good yields [23].

5.3 Diseases

Constraints, such as pathogens, pests, and weeds can be classed as biotic factors [24]. On the other hand, plants stressed by too much or too little water or by nutrient imbalances often produce seeds that are abnormal and these are known as abiotic factors. It is recommended for farmers apply fungicide to their soybean seed at planting to improve germination [22]. In the United States, commercial cultivars are marketed as resistant or tolerant to white mold caused by Sclerotinium rolfsii which causes sudden death syndrome, Fusarium solani f. sp. Glycines, brown stem rot Phialophora gregata f. sp. Sojae, Phytophthora root and stem rot Phytophthora sojae, frogeye leaf spot Cercospora sojina, stem canker, Diaporthephaseolorum var. carlivora, Charcoal rot Macrophomina phaseolina, Soybean rust Phakopsora pachyrhizi, Soybean mosaic virus a Potyvirus Bean pod mottle virus A Comovirus, soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, root know nematode, Meloidogine arenaria [25]. Prevalence varies with countries and regions.

5.4 Weed and insect pests

Soybeans are generally less competitive with weeds than other common crop species, which may be one potential limitation associated with including soybeans in a crop rotation. Although soybeans may tolerate early-season weed competition more than maize, it may be important to control weeds prior to the V3–V4 growth stage, 3–4 weeks after emergence to avoid yield reduction [26]. Narrower rows and higher plant populations can increase soybean’s competitive ability, but the response is inconsistent and can increase the risk of diseases and soybean lodging [27]. The flowering stage in soybean is critical so you do not need harsh herbicides at this time. One must just make sure all the weed control is done earlier [26, 27].

The most important insect pests of soybean are defoliators or pods feeders; these two groups of insect pests can reduce soybean yield by up to 65% [22]. You do not need insects and bugs at flowering but good insect control as this is the time insects cause most damage by causing wounds to the plant that introduce disease [23]. Pesticides, fungicides and insecticides may be needed on occasion, but are generally not recommended except under certain conditions where an expert has provided guidance on product application [22].

5.5 Crop rotations

Continuous cropping of maize leads to extensive degradation of soil and decrease in crop productivity which endangers household food and nutritional security. Introducing soybean into rotation with maize is a method to diversify diets and nutritional status while reducing abiotic and biotic stresses bringing soil fertility improvement and generating more income for farmers [28]. Several agronomic benefits are associated with the use of soy-maize rotations in the tropics, including increased soil fertility, decreased biotic pressure, and increased maize and soy yields [28]. Diversification and intensification through inclusion of grain legumes in cereal, root, or tuber-based cropping systems represents a key technology in the drive towards the sustainable intensification of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa [29].

Soybean can contribute to the nitrogen economy of the soil [28] as the additional nitrogen fixed by soybeans has been found to significantly increase maize yields subsequently planted after soy [29]. Soy-maize rotations build resilience against threats such as Striga (Striga hermonthica) [28]. Despite the usefulness of legume-cereal rotations to boost productivity, adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa remains limited [28]. In South Africa, Van der Merwe et al. [30] reported that the increase in production is partly resulting from commercial farmers recognizing the benefits of soybean in crop rotation systems with maize [19].

5.6 Production practices

General principles of good management like crop rotation, planting healthy, vigorous seeds, and selection of soybean varieties may all be important. Berglund and Helms [31] reported that row spacing is a critical determinant of yield in soybean production, because appropriate spacing can ensure effective weed control. Before flowering you also want a plant that can catch huge amounts of solar energy, that can produce and keep the most flowers so as to end up with the most pods. By late planting, the sunlight is much less as the season progresses hence one ends up with small pods and seeds, so adherence to planting dates is important. If one is planting late you may need to use narrower rows giving a heavier population that can catch the sunlight and heat to cushion the stand. Row planting determines the plant population per unit area, and if cultivation practices are not optimized then a low population, that is, wide spacing can adversely influence the total yield of a given area.

5.7 Processing, markets, and other factors

Factors strongly impacting a commercial crop like soybean, such as poor infrastructure, limited access to markets and technical assistance, barriers to acquiring agricultural inputs, pervasive rural poverty, uncertain land tenure, and poor policy enactment can all negatively impact crop productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa [28]. Large corporations have not materially invested in the Sub-Saharan Africa region to cater to either domestic demand or to service other international markets, leaving the market opportunities available for local and regional processors [18].

Intensification of the soybean processing sector is necessary to create demand for production thus reducing on expensive imports [18]. This, however, requires institutional partnerships between governments, the private sectors and development banks to invest in soybean-crushing infrastructure and bio-refineries, and in the reallocation of the recently idle land from traditional crops to alternative cash crops [2].

As the crushing of soybean produces only 18% oil and 78% meal, processing soybean only for oil is expensive for crushers in the absence of a domestic demand for cake. Ethiopia, for instance, due to the lack of crushing infrastructure, exported 53.94 thousand MT of soybean and imported 4.52 thousand MT of soy oil in 2017 [7]. Logistical bottlenecks can also be experienced in countries which have increased production and have limited crushing facilities and farmers in countries such as Argentina have to sometimes stockpile their production and sell it when market conditions improve [5].

5.8 Technology transfer and adoption

Adoption of technologies by farmers in poorer countries requires, unwavering support from government, sufficient government follow up and back-up as well as evaluated results-based management. Extension workers require re-training and re-equipping [32]. Modernization and digitization of platforms is also often necessary to improve efficiency of information transfer. Mere provision of free inputs to farmers may not be effective to bring about the desired transformation of the farming sector as the history of many third world countries proves. Some farmers face poverty cycles that may force them to sell inputs to meet household needs. This way, unscrupulous players get attracted and black markets are promoted. A farmer who approaches a bank for a machinery loan may go a long way in carrying out significant production as compared to one who gets invited for free inputs [32].

6. Country case studies

Three country case studies will be presented of Ghana, a typical “poor African country” which seems to have long term challenges with respect to soybean production, Cambodia and South Africa, both of which are transitioning and are experiencing increased soybean production levels at country level. The three countries will be examined with respect constraints faced, interventions and government support and response and technology adoption levels by farmers.

6.1 Ghana

Ghana like Nigeria are quite old states in Africa. As early as, 1975 and 1977 a major soybean-growing campaign was launched in support of the growing Ghanaian poultry industry which triggered the launch of a major soybean-growing campaign in support of the growing Ghanaian poultry industry [12]. The initial farmer response was high and a considerable increase in production was recorded, but the utilization base was low and knowledge of processing was inadequate [21]. Initiatives that were meant to increase cash income and improve the nutritional status of rural households were therefore prematurely stalled [12, 33].

A number of other factors are identified as attributing to this problem. Technical issues such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, seem to linger for all farmers from small to large scale, not only in Ghana but in many countries. It’s the solution methods and capabilities that vary at different levels. Some of the challenges faced in Ghana were as follows:

• already existent agro-based firms were discouraged from sourcing locally by poor domestic production and poor grain quality. This situation coupled with high import costs literally forced them out of business [12].

• there was a poor adoption of soybean production technologies, resulting in low yields. Many farmers in Ghana shun technologies such as row planting as they do with traditional crops such as sorghum, millets, and bambaranut, resulting in low plant populations and wide gaps which promote increased weed competition. Unlike the traditional crops, soybean cannot be broadcasted randomly which farmers do as a result of lack of manpower and mechanization issues prominent among small-holder farmers in Ghana [12, 33].

• poor pre- and post-harvest techniques where farmers leave their grain at the mercy of the weather, instead of storing it in cool, dry places. Soybean should be harvested when 90% of the pods turn yellow or are dry otherwise shattering of seed occurs, especially in late-planted soybean. When it comes to the actual grain storage, farmers store their soybean seed in airtight polythene bags. However, exposure to sunlight prior to storage induces seed deterioration. The situation is worse for women farmers as they fail to properly handle their crop due to manpower issues [12, 34].

• rapid loss of seed viability in storage as compared to seed of traditional crops such as sorghum, millets, groundnuts, etc. [12].

• poor road networks hamper farmers from linking with their markets thus, attracting smallholder traders who manipulate prices at the farmer’s expense. The traders usually lack standardized grading systems which affects pricing [12, 33].

Generally, a large scale commercial farmer with experience is more likely to even out most technical issues and may have lighter issues such as market identification and processing challenges.

6.2 Cambodia

In the past, well before 1994, in Cambodia, soybean was grown for subsistence by most farmers on a small scale, and as supplementary crop for livelihood. However, it has become the main cash crop and the fourth most important crop after rice, maize, and cassava in terms of cultivated area and production due to competitive market prices and demand from consumers [32].

Farmers in Cambodia face a fair share of technical constraints just like any country such as access to agricultural inputs and machinery. Some farmers plant soybean manually by broadcasting using the hand-hoe and only a few use machines for planting. Another major problem is lack of knowledge about pest identification. The soybean sub-sector is hugely immature with limited or no links in the value chain from production to marketing to processing. Domestic soybean seeds are considered by processing companies in local communities to be of poor quality and this leads to low demand and therefore contributes to low prices [32].

Researchers, government sector, private sector, extension agencies, and policy makers need to develop appropriate technologies to enhance soybean production and create an enabling environment of successful cultivation of soybean. Training and re-tooling for extension workers is consistently done to effectively transfer improved soybean technologies to farmer [32]. The government aims to modernize agriculture and increase labor productivity for farmers and in terms of markets, Cambodia aims to carry out digitization of information which will facilitate the formation of value chain platforms through which value chain stakeholders can exchange information, services, and products [35].

The level of technology adoption is very significant due to unwavering support from government [32]. Cambodia’s fertilizer usage per hectare of cropland increased from 10.0 kg in 2005 to 33.0 kg in 2018 [35]. Use of pesticides, most of which are imported, has also increased in Cambodia. It is the regulation of their use that still needs to be done for farmers’ safety, food safety, and ecosystem health. Cambodian agriculture has experienced a gradual and nationwide mechanization which resulted in replacement of labor with machinery such as tractors, harvesters, power tillers and water pumps bringing significant growth in soybean production alongside other crops [32, 35]. Besides job creation, large scale farms can become information centers for smaller farmers, which is a plus to extension services.

6.3 South Africa

In South Africa large-scale production of soybeans did not begin until the late 1990s. Previously, output hovered below 50,000 tonnes nationwide with acreage below 50,000 ha. The area planted to soybeans has expanded rapidly since then [19]. The soybean sector and industry in South Africa contributes 250 million USD out of the 11.25 billion USD brought in by the whole agriculture [36]. This include sectors carrying out value-addition of the crop as most of the grain has to be processed.

Most farms are commercial while smallholder farms are more predominant in rural areas [11]. As early as 1996 South African farmers still planted less than a 100 thousand hectares but with increased crushing capacity ensuring local demand for soybeans, the active promotion of the benefits of including soybeans into a rotational cropping pattern with other crops. This and management ease brought by genetically modified herbicide-tolerant soybean varieties, more and more farmers choose to plant soybeans in rotation with maize [37].

The department of trade and industry initiated elaborate processes that triggered investments towards new soybean processing plants and improvements in existing ones during the 2012 financial year. In response farmers have committed to produce increasingly high yields of soybeans yearly and the South African Bureau for Food and Agricultural policy [38] projects that there would be an increase in the amount of land set aside for commercial soybean production subsequently [19]. These policy directives elevated soybean as a cash and food crop. In addition, an industrial policy and action plan of 2012/13 to 2014/15 distinguished soybeans as having the potential for creating opportunities for new investments and jobs making South Africa the largest soybean producer in SSA, followed by Zambia, Nigeria, and Uganda [7].

Historically, soybean marketing in South African and other oilseed crops were regulated under an oilseed board initiated in 1937 and revised in 1968. This board was set up primarily to determine the sale prices of oilseeds in the local market. In 1996 the act it was operating under, was replaced by another act which deregulated marketing of agricultural products in the South African agricultural sector leading to the establishment of a council to manage and monitor the government’s involvement in the agricultural sector.

This was when soybean producers in South Africa became participants in an international free market environment. In terms of markets, there are many growing and numerous ready markets for soybean in South Africa. Today, some African countries still operate under such restrictive laws which do not improve the true market performance of crop prices thus limiting their producers from becoming global players [39].

7. Future prospects

Soybean has the potential to transform the economy of a country as evidenced by data for countries like South Africa and Cambodia, to name only two countries. According to Kargesa and Reckingac [40], soybean has become one of the most important commodities of trade. This is besides its role in transforming family livelihoods and diets. If all limitations in its production are dealt with and commitment to utilize idle land tracts and adoption and adherence to recommended production techniques is done, it becomes an easily accessible source of protein to an ordinary family. It will take a lot of awareness of its value in Asian diets such as the Chinese diet and culinary industry, where lifestyle diseases have been kept low while maintaining an important balance. Therefore, it is worth any commercial pursuits.

8. Discussion, conclusions, and recommendations

The success of soybean in the top-producing countries is associated with large landmasses with supply of adequate inputs coupled with intensive management and good access to competitive markets.

Africa is a minor player in the soybean industry as African producers supply less than 1% of the world’s soybeans due to a persistent yield gap between smallholder farmers and large scale farmers which also occurs among third world and developed countries. Because soybean is not for direct household consumption, it is treated as a secondary crop by subsistence farmers.

If measures are taken to close the yield gaps among other factors by not regarding soybean as a zero inputs crop, as well as increasing scale of production from small to large scale through the utilization of idle land, improve access to inputs and markets, third world countries will improve production.

Technical issues such as access to fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, linger for all for farmers from small to large scale farmers, across different countries. It is the capabilities to bring solution that vary at different levels.

Mere provision of free inputs to smallholder farmers attracts unscrupulous players who end up creating black markets of the inputs. A farmer that approaches a bank for a machinery loan may go a long way in carrying out significant production as compared to one who gets invited for free inputs.

Positive transition in soybean production has occurred and is still occurring for countries like South Africa and Cambodia, both in Africa and Asia, respectively. Large scale production should be able to meet domestic demand and excess for exports. In addition to job creation, large scale farms can become information centers for smaller farmers.

Adoption of technologies by farmers in poorer countries backed by sufficient government policies and actions at the same time routing out leakages from shady operations that arise may bring about transition of the soybean sector in African countries.

The soybean sector and industry contributes a quarter of a billion USD to the 11.25 billion USD brought in by the whole agriculture sector in South Africa. This shows that the crop can significantly transform an economy.

The growing feed industry, industrial demand and biodiesel are driving the demand for soybean upwards. The bias towards plant based protein is also expected to benefit the consumption of soybean-based products. Therefore, new soybean frontiers are likely to continuously develop and the Southern African region has an opportunity to tap in, to its own benefit.

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interests regarding this work.

Funding

This soybean research project is fully funded by the Research, Development and Postgraduate Studies of the Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein.