WISHH News

U.S. Soy Complements African Food Production

There is rightfully much attention on the twin tragedies of famine and HIV/AIDS that are now ravaging many African countries. Yet, there are also many positive stories of sustainable food production in Africa today, and many opportunities for soy to be successfully incorporated into those foods.

Jim Hershey, American Soybean Association program director for the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), recently traveled to South Africa and where he saw the growing interest in soy firsthand. “Worldwide, many are recognizing that soy can make foods healthier, without having to change the taste of foods that people already like. Furthermore, local food processors and others are recognizing the business opportunities of working with U.S. soy.”

The South African Soy Foods Association (SASFA) includes 50 members and has identified a number of areas with potential for greater use of soy such as school feeding programs and local business opportunities to fortify foods with soy. SASFA has developed and registered a seal for a “soy mark” program as well as set quality standards that can apply to products like Texturized Soy Protein (TSP).

In Botswana, WISHH is developing a program that will increase commercial markets for soy while also working with Botswana’s government on feeding programs. WISHH is providing training for Botswana’s National Food Technology Research Institute (NFTRC), which already has an impressive facility with pilot plants for food processing, research laboratories and more. NFTRC’s Martin Kebakile traveled to the National Soybean Research Laboratory in Illinois last October to get hands on training on soy protein products.

NFTRC is also introducing WISHH to potential in-country processing opportunities especially since the government of Botswana has already encouraged construction of grain mills and other processing facilities. While in Botswana, Hershey visited a maize and sorghum mill that has the potential of adding soy products to its business.

Leading political officials of the country encourages this kind of business arrangement. Last year, Botswana’s vice president and trade minister came to Illinois to meet with soybean industry leaders. “We need to prove the point that an African state can do trade with another state from the developed world, and make gainful benefit out of it,” said Botswana’s Trade Minister Pelonomi Venson. “And it is our intention to make it work.”