Trade Hub and TechnoServe Collaborate in Support of the Soy Industry

SATH and TechnoServe collaborated in organizing the launch of Sub-Saharan African Soy Alliance (SASA) on May 16, 2011. SATH facilitated the participation of 35 regional companies, including producers, seed companies, crushers, human and animal feed processors, in the SASA launch.

SATH will support SASA through activities such as the establishment of a web-based market information system that would highlight pricing and stock levels of soya and support to the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA) to introduce Good Manufacturing Practices and new technology into the region to enhance feed safety (and hence food safety) and competitiveness.

With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), TechnoServe (TNS) conducted a two year value chain assessment of the Soya sector which covered 7 Southern African countries. A key recommendation stemming from this work is the establishment of a regional soya alliance that would catalyze the sustainable growth of a globally competitive soya industry in Africa. The soya sector is currently a fragmented, marginally profitable industry with little regional trade. At the launch, delegates reaffirmed the main findings of the TNS study and it was agreed that national soya associations would be established and that TNS would recruit a SASA coordinator, funded by BMGF. The approach is in line with SATH methodology of supporting an apex association within the soya sector (and others) that will coordinate the industry leading to improved yields, expansion of production, improved competitiveness and increased regional trade.