Soybean Processing for Better Soil Management

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have worked together as partners since 2001 when WCS began using WFP food support to help farmers become food self-sufficient. One of the major crops these farmers are growing is soybeans. COMACO purchases this crop in bulk and processes it into an It’s Wild! product called Yummy Soy and HEPS (High Energy Protein Supplement), sold in shops and other outlets around the country. WFP requested that COMACO process HEPS for its malnourished people in Chadiza and Mambwe districts of the Eastern Province of Zambia. So far, COMACO has provided a total of 200 metric tons over the last three months, and this has seen the Lundazi HEPS plant working to full capacity, resulting in the creation of 15 permanent jobs.

One of the major crops these farmers are growing is soybeans. COMACO purchases this crop in bulk and processes it into Yummy Soy and HEPS (High Energy Protein Supplement), which is sold in shops and other outlets around the country. WFP requested COMACO to process the product for its underprivileged beneficiaries in Chadiza and Mambwe districts of the Eastern Province of Zambia. So far, a total of 200 metric tons has been supplied in the last three months, and this has seen the Lundazi HEPS plant working to full capacity, resulting in the creation of 15 permanent jobs. It is expected that the balance of 97 metric tons for the WFP order will be supplied by end of May.

COMACO realizes that HEPS is a food supplement that is mostly given to HIV/AIDS patients on treatment, and the program has risen to the occasion and is now producing the product in larger quantities for Hospitals and NGOs supporting HIV/AIDS patients on anti-retroviral treatment (ART). Early last year, COMACO only produced an average of 4 metric tones of HEPS to supply the few institutions within Lundazi, but with the growing demand for the product, COMACO is now producing about 106 metric tons per month. St Francis Mission Hospital and Thandizo Home Based Care are some of the institutions that have come to appreciate the product and purchasing it for the patients. COMACO supplies these institutions 2.5 tones of HEPS each per month.

With these developments, more and more farmers are now producing soya beans in large quantities as they are sure that they have a ready market through COMACO. With the cash incentive to grow this crop, farmer are now more committed to crop rotation and maintaining their soils with a good nitrogen-fixing crop. John Mbewe is a farmer from Mwansephangwe cultivating soybeans on three limas of land. Last year John harvested 2 metric tones of soybeans and sold about 1.5 metric tones to COMACO. He testified that now he is more determined to grow the soybeans now than before. ”I want to commend COMACO for providing market for the soybeans, for a long time now we have not had reliable markets. This year we will double the production of soybeans to also boost our food production with better soils that soybeans give us,” said Mbewe.