December 9, 2013

The USDA has sponsored a four-year soy production project worth US$20 million to support about 3,000 smallholder farmers in Tanzania.

Implemented by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Tanzania, the project is expected to increase coverage to more than 11,000 farmers with assistance for production and marketing of soy, an official of the US Embassy said at the project launch.

The CRS brought together at the launch governmental officials, donors, private sector and national and international NGOs to discuss and share experiences, challenges, and opportunities to improve the soy value chain development in Tanzania. 

Known by its Kiswahili name of Soya ni Pesa (SNP), meaning Soya is money, "the project further demonstrates the American people's commitment to sustainable agricultural and economic growth, particularly in Tanzania's domestic poultry industry," the official added.

The formal launch took place one year after initial SNP field activities started in the southern Tanzania regions of Njombe and Ruvuma.

Soy has been grown in Tanzania since the early 1990s and there is a large and untapped potential to increase production and processing, given the right investments, the local agricultural officials said. 

Soy crops have the potential to improve soil fertility, provide a source of protein for human consumption and animal feed, and contribute to income for Tanzanian smallholder farmers.

In the next two years, the SNP project aims to double current production levels while also promoting localised poultry farming for egg and meat production. 

In its first year, the SNP project has linked participating farmers to potential buyers which resulted in sales of 850 megatons at two to three times the conventional price. 

The poultry component has reached 1,000 households with training on chicken and egg production.