Soy Beans Farming in Migori County

Migori County is situated in the South-Western part of Kenya. It boarders Homa Bay County to the North, Kisii and Narok counties to the East and Tanzania to the South. Lake Victoria boarders the county to the West.

Migori County has a large area of arable land and agriculture is the mainstay of the economies of communities. There is potential for the cultivation of cotton and oil crops especially sunflower and simsim. The lower areas of the county are suited for rice farming. Dairy farming and meat production are the other areas that have opportunities for investment.

Processing of agricultural produce and animal products has great potential in the county; hides and skins and leather products, Value addition to agricultural, livestock and fish products is an area that is yearning for investment. Cotton farming, ginneries and oil processing have great potential for investors.

Sugar cane and tobacco used to be the main cash crops in the county, but that is no longer the case as farmers largely started investing into Soybean farming. Soybean took over the key cash crops when sugarcane companies started dwindling and thus farmers had to seek for alternative means of making ends meet, thus turning into soybean farming.

Research stated that Kenya imports more than 50,000 metric tonnes of soya beans and thus, in order to save foreign exchange, increased local production was the way to go. The savings in foreign exchange contributes significantly to the national economic growth if well harnessed.

Putting up a Soybean processing plant is one of the investment opportunities that are available in Migori county. The plant will be operating in processing of the cereal. Soya is very rich in protein and is a globally recognized pre-packaged meal for humans and a source of protein for animal feeds around the world.  Soya is also the main component of some processed foods and supplements such as soy meat, soy flour, soymilk, soy oil and confectioneries.

Soy bean products are also considered rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and they contain flavones, considered by dieticians and physicians to be useful in prevention of cancer. Besides these nutrients and health features, soya products have no cholesterol. This is proof that investors will have ready markets for the products.

At home one can use soya food products in a huge variety of recipes. You can prepare soya foods from home grown soya beans or buy them at a local market. A family of five will need 100 kg soya bean grains annually. Similarly, they are also relatively cheaper with higher protein content and they contain a lot of fiber rich in calcium and magnesium. Currently, the price of two kilograms’ soya seed retails at Sh150.

Soya bean production is an income generation activity. By investing less than KSH 8,400, a farmer can generate a profit of KSH 84,0O0 on one acre of land annually. A farmer will need only 25 kg of seeds, one acre of land, some tools and manpower. You can generate more income with soya bean production than maize, cassava or bean production.

With less than KSH 840,000 you can build and operate a small scale unit to produce soy food: soy milk, tofu, soy flour, thus generating at least KSH 84,000 every month.

Article by Vera Shawiza.