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Developing Inputs for Africa’s Soybean Revolution

Developing Inputs for Africa’s Soybean Revolution Teresah Wafula Nekesa 1 , Nancy K. Karanja 2 and Paul L, Woomer 3 1 MEA Fertilizers Ltd., 2 University of Nairobi, 3 N2Africa Program.

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Developing Inputs for Africa’s Soybean Revolution

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  1. Developing Inputs for Africa’s Soybean Revolution Teresah Wafula Nekesa1, Nancy K. Karanja2 and Paul L, Woomer3 1MEA Fertilizers Ltd., 2University of Nairobi, 3N2Africa Program Background: Africa continues to import massive quantities of soybeans but an effort led by N2Africa seeks to reverse this trend. MEA Ltd. in Kenya is assisting by developing farm inputs needed by soybean farmers. This is backstopped by the University of Nairobi through selecting elite soybean rhizobia and providing quality assurance of inoculants. Approach: MEA has developed the only commercial legume inoculant factory in East and Central Africa. This inoculant is marketed as BIOFIX. It contains elite rhizobia applied to an organic carrier and accompanied with gum arabic seed adhesive. Packaging, labeling and quality assurance meet international standards. We also developed Sympal, a fertilizer blend intended for symbiotic legumes. Both products are manufactured at MEA’s state-of-the-art facility in Nakuru, Kenya and marketed throughout East Africa and beyond. Achievements: BIOFIX and Sympal have undergone intensive research and development. For the past three seasons, BIOFIX for soybean increased nodulation and yield by +103% and +36% respectively. Unacceptable levels of contaminants were considerably reduced by adjusting sterilization procedures. Substituting Sympal for SSP fertilizer increased soybean yield by +28%. Applying Zn to the blend has further improved its performance. Soybean farmers adopting both BIOFIX and Sympal enjoy an average 3-fold return on investment. Challenges: Several factors constrain wider distribution and use of these products. As a live product, many countries require cumbersome importation procedures for BIOFIX. Agrodealers are not familiar with its handling and use. Sympal may further benefit from reformulation as a compound fertilizer. MEA and its partners continue to address these and other issues. For more information contact T. Wafulah by emailing tnwafullah@mea.co.ke

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