Development of the animal feed to poultry value chain across Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study has been prepared within the UNU-WIDER project on 'Regional Growth and Development in Southern Africa'.

Modelling predicts that soybean is poised to dominate crop production across Africa

“…Land dedicated to soybean cultivation in Africa in 2016 exceeded 1.5 million hectares. Development of new rust-resistant varieties and high-yielding lines that are adapted to production in African climates now face a sellers' market, particularly for soybean oil for cooking and high-protein meal cake, which is a much sought-after ingredient in poultry and other animal feeds (Ncube, Roberts, & Zengeni, 2016). Moreover, in rotation with cereals such as maize and sorghum, soybean production has the potential to provide the bedrock of food and feed supply across Africa.…”

“…Such producers are inherently limited in their overall ability to adopt the latest soybean technologies and overcome barriers stemming from market access and investment needs (Ray, Mueller, West, & Foley, 2013;Wilson, 2015). Moreover, limited and inconsistent regional producer price data make accurate predictions of the profitability of soybean rotations problematic, that is, beyond their proven value as substitutes for expensive imports of feedstuffs (Ncube et al, 2016). However, it is important to note that soybeans have the lowest producer price in developing countries (Akibode & Maredia, 2012).…”

“…This growing demand for meat protein has led to rising imports of soybean meal mainly from Argentina that over time have accounted for up to 90% of domestic feed demand (Ncube et al 2016). Although today roughly 90% of Africa's soybean production is based in South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Malawi, Benin, and Zimbabwe, countries across Africa have experienced relatively high economic growth and urbanization resulting in growing populations of middle-class consumers (Melo et al, 2015).…”

“…In 2013, Africa's imports of soybean, -oil, and -cake equalled US$ 5.55 billion (FAOSTAT, 2017). For soybeans to generate the economic returns necessary to allow small-and medium-scale producers to benefit economically, possibly from future exports of soybean to Europe or Japan (Ncube et al, 2016), large-scale investments ranging from infrastructure to processing and marketing and sound regulatory systems are needed, especially outside South Africa.…”

“…Last but not the least, the economic success of soybean across Africa relies heavily on establishing regional trade relationships between a large number of producers and regional hubs of food and feed processing that may only build around major consumer and livestock markets. Such alliances are still rare across Africa, where the aforementioned lack of market liberalization has hindered the development of regional agricultural trade and supply chains (Ncube et al, 2016). This may especially have a negative impact on South African soybean production, which is closest to becoming a new hub for soybean production and processing in the African continent.…”