Soya Beans Production in Zambia: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

The soya bean production opens doors of opportunities for Zambian farmers. Notably, the climate in Zambia is largely favourable for soya production and the arable land is vast enough to accommodate future expansion. Most importantly, soya is a very profitable crop. On the other hand, there are some challenges which affect soya production such as poor soils aggravated by low fertilizer use, poorly developed agricultural advisory services and farmers' inability to access favourable input and outputs markets. Moreover, farmers predominantly find improved soya seeds expensive. It is therefore expedient for policymakers and the government to join hands to strengthen the linkage between small-scale farmers, commercial producers and the market to assist them to commercialize their products in full scale. In order to address these challenges, the authors suggest that the Zambian government should put farming inputs (such as inoculum seeds), post-harvest management lessons and some necessities at the disposal of farmers. Moreover, the government has to be serious about improving country's infrastructure especially rural roads to enhance soya bean trade. Lastly, the policymakers should take the responsibility of orchestrating soya trade to avoid trade distrust which results from rigged scales. If these recommendations are taken seriously soya bean production is likely to speed up economic growth and alleviate poverty in Zambia.

Climate change impacts on maize and soybean yields in Zambia

“…Soybeans show less sensitivity to future climate and demonstrate the value of diversifying agricultural systems and increasing the sustainability of food production systems. The suggestion of this study aligns with Siamabele (2019), that poverty reduction in line with the Zambian vision 2030 and the 7NDP (2017) through agriculture crop diversification will require a comprehensive understanding and investments in cash crops such as soybean, which is less sensitive to climate change impacts and has the ability to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in rural areas. This finding is a vital consideration amidst Zambia's more maize‐centric agriculture system.…”

The significance of soybean production in the face of changing climates in Africa

“…Besides, soybean production also has the potential agronomic benefit of rejuvenating soils. Soybean canopies protect the soil from recurrent erosion, fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil and decaying root residues improve soil fertility (Siamabele, 2019). Therefore, there is an urgent need for the production of resilient crops and legumes that have both the capacity to enhance farmers' livelihoods (incomes, health, asserts) together with improving the fertility of the soil and to some extent a crop that can provide a protective cover to the land to avoid soil erosion.…”

“…Accordingly, concerning the high cultivation of soybean crop world-wide, some of the most important parameters related to the production of soybean are presented among which the soil biota including rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi are of great significance. Furthermore, Siamabele (2019) showed how the production of soybeans has the potential in alleviating poverty among rural farmers as the crop is referred to as one of the miracle crops which provide cheap and affordable quality oil and vegetable protein. This makes the crop a good adaptation option for small-scale farmers whose income levels are not only low but weak to find other survival strategies when faced with climate changes.…”

“…Despite the potential of soybean production in alleviating poverty in these changing climates, the crop has a lot of challenges that small-scale farmers face from production to consumption level in Africa. As argued by Siamabele (2019) challenges faced in soybean by small-scale farmers range from inputs accessibility, rainfall dependence, production to market. Some of the challenges faced by most small-scale farmers at the productivity level include climate change, a decline in soil fertility over time and low availability of improved seeds, and low usage of microbial inoculum (Mpepereki et al, 2000).…”

Enhancing household Soybean Processing and Utilization in the Eastern Province of Zambia, a concurrent triangulation study design

“…Awareness factors include; lack of awareness regarding health benefits of the Soybean products and effective ongoing training on how to process Soybeans as well as level of education [5], [12], [15], [16]. Production factors are farm size, cost of improved soya bean seeds, low fertilizer use as well as affordable credit services were also reported [7], [17]- [20]. Market related factors are farmers' inability to access favorable Soybean outputs and processing markets [7], [15], [17], [21].…”