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