The US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) recently brought together leading leaders and exporters from the US soybean industry with key leaders from the Nigerian soybean value chain at its recent conference in Lagos. At the event, Lance RezacUSSEC Chairman and Kevin RoepkeUSSEC Regional Director – South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa had this interview Josephine Okojie, which discusses USSEC’s mission in Nigeria and its support of the country’s animal feed industry. Fragments:
To what extent do you think the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) has contributed to solving Nigeria’s food and nutrition problems?
Rezac: USSEC has been around for many years, and we’ve done this in other countries as well. We started in China when China grew its own soy and exported some of it. We shared technical expertise with the Chinese to improve their pork and aquaculture production. As a result, China doubled its domestic soy production and grew its pork industry. This allowed them to increase their standard of living by making animal proteins more accessible.
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In Nigeria, our focus is on helping the poultry and aquaculture sector by providing them with the knowledge needed to boost production. There’s a lot of potential in it, and we’ve learned how to do it in the US and we’ve shown other countries how to do it as well. We are hopeful that we can work with feed producers and the poultry industry in Nigeria and grow these industries by continuing to share our knowledge and expertise.
Nigerians are eager to learn and at USSEC one of our pillars is sharing knowledge. We have great experts from all over the world who have done this before. And we are confident that we can help Nigeria advance its poultry industry in providing protein to everyone in the country.
How is the knowledge transferred? Are you bringing experts from the US to Nigeria to work in the aquaculture and poultry value chains?
Rezac: Our experts from around the world visit Nigeria and work with the farmers and feed manufacturers to ensure that the nutrition is correct. We have input on the different genetics that work for us, and some of the genetics could work in Nigeria. We try to provide that expert knowledge to help the industry grow.
The Soy Excellence Center (SEC), an initiative of the USSEC, has been working with local industry, academia and the Nigerian government since 2019. We have trained over 2,000 Nigerians through this workforce development and capacity building initiative, with a focus on access and access to the labor market. mid-level career professionals. The curriculum is designed and developed in the United States by Kansas State University, but is implemented by Nigerians with the knowledge and expertise of local conditions. So it has a very Nigerian touch.
For the time being, we are focusing on the poultry, feed production and aquaculture sectors. Maybe one day we will also design a dairy track. But that’s just one example of this knowledge transfer initiative for early to mid-career professionals. We also have knowledge transfer for high-level decision makers and executives through more advanced teachings and cultural exchanges with delegations from Nigeria visiting the US and vice versa.
When people talk about importing grains from the US, they think; ‘Is it GM or non-GM? How does this work out in soybeans; do customers get to decide which one to bring to Nigeria?
Rezac: We are proud to be a preferred supplier. We are one of the largest producers and exporters of genetically modified organisms. We are also one of the largest producers and exporters of non-GM. So that is a market-driven decision that consumers worldwide make based on their preferences. It’s a choice. But one thing I would like to say is that I grew my first genetically modified crops in 1996.
Since then, millions and billions of meals have been prepared with it. In the US, more than 90 percent of soy grown is genetically modified and we use it ourselves all the time. It is very well accepted. But we can offer a choice. However, I would like to highlight the fact that most of the world, well China and Europe, are all buying genetically modified soy because it is so well accepted. This shows how much of the market is largely GM, with a small portion non-GM.
Some countries buy genetically modified soybeans or soymeal to feed their livestock. While the non-GM is retained for human consumption. Nigeria has a lot of non-genetically modified soy, which has a higher value in the world than genetically modified soy. They could potentially benefit from exporting their non-GM soy to some countries that want it and bringing in the GM soy to feed their livestock at a lower cost. There is a potential there that they can take advantage of.
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What would be USSEC’s key insights following the delegation’s interactions with key stakeholders in Nigeria?
Rezac: There is an enthusiasm among Nigerians and a will to want change and make their country better for everyone. However, there is much concern about the rise of the younger generation in Nigeria and the need to create opportunities for them. We would like to collaborate with the agricultural sector and position it as an important player in the nutrition of the coming generation.
Every year, USSEC and others put together an annual executive program in Nigeria. How has the annual event helped the Nigerian animal feed industry?
Roepke: This is the fourth year the conference has taken place and the third year it has been held in Lagos. I think there are a number of pillars that the conference emphasizes.
The first is built around knowledge sharing, a transfer of information from one side to the other. And this is a two-way street. It’s not just one way. USSEC has experts. Nigeria has experts, and I think there is a mutual benefit. This is a good platform for discovering information and sharing knowledge.
The second is of course networking. We talked a lot about breaking down silos in the last meeting. Building trust and accountability so that we can see these agricultural industries in Nigeria excel at the level they can reach.
The third is forward-looking and asks: where do you see this industry in five or ten years? How can we, as the US Soybean Export Council and the US Soy and US Soy Farmers, help be a catalyst or an enabler of that? We are proud to support and work with the industry to help develop it to provide more nutrition and support Nigeria’s nutritional security.
Currently, Nigeria is having problems with payments, mainly due to the volatility in the foreign exchange market. From your experience, have there been places in other markets that have had similar challenges? How did they navigate this?
Roepke: There are many other countries in the world that face foreign exchange reserve challenges. I think what you see developing is a huge emphasis on the concept of comparative advantage.
By doing this, countries can devote resources, whether time, labor, or capital, to producing the goods or services that give them a global comparative advantage by exporting as many of those products and services as they can. productivity of the different crops or raw materials.
Nigeria and the US have comparative and competitive advantages in agricultural products, including soybeans. In what areas can both countries work together to expand trade?
Roepke: In terms of agriculture, the US is not only the largest food exporter in the world, but also the largest food importer in the world. This year we will import more food than we export. So just by this fact alone we also lean on this concept of comparative advantage.
Nigeria has many comparative advantages; it’s in the people. The people in this country are ambitious, enterprising and hardworking. I think these values are fundamental and will lead to value-added agriculture. And that is where I see Nigeria moving forward, where the country should look for value-added agriculture.
I think the poultry sector, aquaculture sector, agro-processing and things like that have a lot of potential here in Nigeria.
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How do you think Nigeria can tackle the rising rates of malnutrition and the worst food crisis?
Roepke: One of the things is rethinking the concept or discussion around food security and elevating it to nutritional security. It’s not just about your total calorie intake. It’s about your nutrition, so that you are assured of a balanced diet. The main crucial element here is making sure you get enough protein, whether it comes straight from soy or poultry products. Eggs are a fantastic opportunity for Nigeria. They have a natural shelf life of 30 days and are quite inexpensive. You can eat one, two or three eggs daily and manage your protein needs effectively. That is an immediate solution for food and nutrition security there.
We are also very impressed by the will of the people of Nigeria. The attitudes, opportunities and positivity, especially in the private sector, are incredible and inspiring. It encourages us to continue working with the local private sector. I think the private sector will be leaders around the world, in Africa, and especially here in Nigeria. We are fortunate and pleasure to work with them.
What would be your most important take-away?
Roepke: As I said, we need to shift the conversation from food security to nutritional security. Giving people a full belly or consuming enough calories is no longer the ultimate goal. However, making sure they are nutritionally satisfied is the ultimate goal.
We have seen food inflation in Nigeria rise above 40 percent. The number of chronically and moderately malnourished people in Nigeria fluctuates around almost 70 percent. These are aspects that I believe require critical attention at this time.