Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Tanzania launches soybean value chain project “Soya ni Pesa (SnP)”

        U.S. Embassy Tanzania                                                                                                                               December 3, 2013

The American People, through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will sponsor a $20 million dollar, four-year project entitled Soya ni Pesa (SNP) that intends to reach 3,000 smallholder farmers with assistance for the production and marketing of soybeans.  The ultimate goal of the project is to increase coverage to more than 11,000 farmers over the duration of the project.  The project implementer Catholic Relief Services Tanzania (CRS) will host a formal launch of SNP on December 4 at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam.  At the launch, CRS will bring together governmental officials, donors, private sector, and national and international NGOs to discuss and share experiences, challenges, and opportunities to improve the soybean value chain development.  The SNP project further demonstrates the American People’s commitment to sustainable agricultural and economic growth, particularly in Tanzania’s domestic poultry industry.

The launch event takes place one year after initial SNP activities started in the field in Njombe and Ruvuma regions.  While soybeans have been grown in Tanzania since the early 1990s, there is a large and untapped potential to increase domestic production and processing, given the right investments.  Soybean crops have the potential to improve soil fertility, provide a source of protein for human consumption and animal feed, and contribute to income for Tanzanian smallholder farmers. The SNP project aims to double current production levels by 2016, while also promoting localized poultry rising for egg and meat production. 

In its first year, the SNP project linked participating farmers to potential buyers which resulted in sales of 850 megatons at two to three times the conventional price.  This demonstrates that it is possible for smallholder farmers to generate profits from soybeans, while buyers can satisfy at least part of their demand for this crop domestically.  The poultry component has reached 1,000 households with training on chicken and egg production.  The SNP project launch event will bring together the many different stakeholders in the soybean value chain, including Government of Tanzania representatives, soybean producer groups, private sector buyers and processors, donor agencies, and other actors interested in soybeans, the Southern Agricultural Corridor (SAGCOT), and value chain development.

CRS is the official relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and has been working in Tanzania for over 50 years.  CRS works in partnership with local organizations, including the Catholic Church, secular NGOs, and other organizations, in efforts to support vulnerable communities to meet their basic needs. SNP is implemented in Tanzania through local partners Caritas Songea, Caritas Njombe, and WOPATA in Ruvuma, Njombe, and Morogoro respectively.  Muvek is implementing the poultry production component of the project in Njombe and Songea.