Description

Soyabean (U.S.) or soya bean (UK) (Glycine max) is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a pulse by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Fat-free (defatted) soybean meal is a significant and cheap source of protein for animal feeds and many prepackaged meals; soy vegetable oil is another product of processing the soybean crop. For example, soybean products such as textured vegetable protein (TVP) are ingredients in many meat and dairy analogues. Soybeans produce significantly more protein per acre than most other uses of land.

In Nigeria, soya beans are mostly produced in the middle belt with benue state accounting for over 70% of the production in Nigeria. Some of the states producing soya beans in Nigeria include Kwara, Kogi, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Nassarawa, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Ogun, and Taraba states. Other states are Adamawa, Abia, Enugu, Anambra, Jigawa, Lagos, Plateau, Ekiti and the Federal Capital Territory.

Nigeria’s installed annual soybean crushing capacity is estimated at approximately 600,000 MT. An estimated 255,000 tons of soybeans were crushed in MY2010/11, representing only 42 percent of installed processing capacity. Eight large processors account for nearly 60 percent of Nigeria’s soybean crushing industry.

Industry sources forecast crushing to rise to 271,000 tons in MY2011/12 on account of the anticipated increased soybeans production. Soybeans are crushed to obtain oil (for industrial and refined for food use) and soybean meal/cake for animal feed.

Soybean prior to oil extraction is referred to as Full Fat Soybean. Full Fat Soybean meal is an adequately heat processed whole soybean. It contains complete amount of oil and protein naturally present in soybeans. They valued as a good poultry feed ingredient owing to its high oil (18%) and protein (38%) content.

Nigeria, with a population of about 165 million is grossly underprovided with the essential food component, which is protein. For example, data from the FOS, CBN, and FAO indicate that from cattle, less than 2kg of beef is available to an average Nigerian per year and just mere 4kg of eggs per annum is available to each Nigerian. In fact, milk production has been nose diving or at best has remained constant since 1994.

This scenario is compounded more so when the volume of egg supply is very low, being 10.56g per person per day as compared with the usual recommendation that an egg should be consumed by an adult per day. This recommendation would imply a crate of 30 eggs per month. This story also holds for other meat products including, chicken.

To ameliorate this problem of low-level of protein intake, there is the need for concerted effort, among the various stakeholders to bring about the massive production of protein based food items at competitive costs so that they would be affordable to the general masses. Aside from the other necessary economic reforms, massive investment poultry farming is one way of resolving the problem.

The demand for FFS exceeds supply owing to its importance as a constituent of animal feeds all over the world e.g. Broilers eat broiler mash which must contain 55% FFS to take care of animal’s energy and protein needs. Nigeria with a population of over 165 million people is a large market for poultry, swine and fish products which automatically creates a market for the food being eaten by these animals.