Soy bean bound to gain more economic importance

Some people refer to it as soy bean while others just call it soya bean. In some countries it is even called soja bean. It is actually a leguminous plant that has been with us in Uganda for many years, grown as both a cash crop and a food crop. It is also a nutritious fodder crop, used to make silage and hay and whose pods may be prepared and eaten as a vegetable. Some people fry the dry beans which may be eaten as an accompaniment to tea or coffee. Its flour may also be used in a variety of ways including the making of bakery products. After harvesting the beans, some people use the remains of the plant to fertilise the soil by just burying them in the ground. This is a good soil nourishing practice in the cultivation of the crop according to Mr Michael Wallington, Farm Manager at Kiryandongo Farm near Masindi along the highway to northern Uganda.

Soy bean is said to have been cultivated in China and Japan long before written records were kept. Today it is grown in nearly all parts of the world in more than one hundred different varieties, and its economic importance continues to grow especially in industrialised countries. It is said to contain 18 per cent to 20 per cent oil and its protein content is rated at between 40 per cent and 50 per cent.
It can be grown in any climatic conditions and soils suitable for maize and cotton which makes Uganda a very suitable country for growing the crop. Up till the recent years however, we have cultivated of soy bean much, at the national production of merely 109,000 metric tonnes a year according to figures from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS 2006). Eastern Uganda has so far been in the lead, producing 65.1 per cent of that amount followed by western Uganda, 21 per cent,central Uganda, 9.6 per cent, and northern Uganda,6.3 per cent.

There is a new chapter now in the crop’s production as we get into the regional economic merger of our East African countries. New industries are opening and those already in existence are expanding to address the expected demands of a larger, regional market. Soy bean is an important raw material for the production of many industrial products such as margarine and other oils, poultry and animal feeds, and a whole range of other products. The crop is fast gaining the economic importance that it has in the industrialised countries.

Growing of soy bean is easy and profitable when ordinary precautions are followed. In Uganda it takes just about three months to reach maturity. And the good news is that at present, there is a bigger market for soy bean than there has ever been before in the country, especially in northern Uganda where Mukwano Group of Companies has set up a multibillion shillings investment to promote the crop’s production. In the recent years farmers in that region have been encouraged to grow it along with other crops such as sunflower and maize because it is good to rotate the crops to sustain the soil’s productivity. Where the farmer has a sizable amount of land, it is encouraged that some plots of land are allowed to rest for a period and then used again for growing any of the crops. Mukwano Group of Companies needs and buys the crops in large quantities at fairly attractive prices.

Planting of soy bean is done at the beginning of the rain season and for best results the farmers are supplied with Namsoy 4M believed to be the best seed variety, according to Mr Reji V Narayanah Business Unit Manager, Mukwano Group of Companies. The seeds are planted in rows about three feet apart. Where the farmer practices only simple agricultural practices and has average fertile soils with a fair amount of rainfall, a harvest of about 700kg from an acre is possible. But Mr Narayanah said all farmers are encouraged to use fertilisers, especially animal manure, for maximum yields which may be as high as 1,500kg or even more from an acre.

To ensure continuous production of soy bean, sunflower, and maize, Mukwano Group of Companies has set up a farm of about 9,000 acres at Kiryandongo to supplement its out growers programme. Kiryandongo is also a demonstration farm where all farmers are welcome to observe some of the best and most scientific farming practices for the crops. In future it is expected to become a seed production centre as well. Mr Wallington said they use such fertilisers as CAN and DAP and a harvest of close to three metric tons of soy bean is expected from an acre in a single season.

ssalimichael@yahoo.com