History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

Production of thua-nao at a thua-nao mill]. Daizu Geppo
(Soybean Monthly News) 187:16-21. [Jap]*
1450. Okada, Noriyuki. 1993. [Searching for thua-nao
(3). Thua-nao cooks in Thailand]. Daizu Geppo (Soybean
Monthly News) 188:15-20. [Jap]*
1451. Smith, Joyotee; Woodworth, J.B.; Dashiell, K.E.
1993. Government policy and farm level technologies: The
expansion of soyabean in Nigeria. Agricultural Systems in
Africa 3(1):20-32. IITA Journal Paper No: IITA/92/JA/06. 24
p. [25 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Government policy,
soybean production and adoption of improved varieties:
Three periods of government policy (1960 to mid-1970s,
mid-1970s to mid-1980s, and mid-1980s to the present).
The study area and data collection. Empirical evidence:
Production trend of soybean, home utilization and industrial
use of soybean, competitiveness of domestically produced
soybean vs. imports, soybean’s increasing competitiveness
as a cash crop, soybean’s contribution to nutrition and its
incorporation into rural diets, returns to farmers’ resources,
soybean’s compatibility with the cropping system.
Conclusions.
“In the continuing debate about the food crisis in Sub-
Saharan Africa two major contributory factors are widely
recognized: the lack of technologies appropriate for smallscale
producers and the existence of pricing policies which
discriminate against agriculture. This paper links the two
factors and presents empirical evidence, from the case of
soybean in Nigeria, which shows that overvalued exchange
rates not only led to a decline in soybean production but
also impeded the adoption of an appropriate technology
(improved soybean varieties).”
Nigeria attained independence from Great Britain in
1960. The history of soybeans in Nigeria after that time can
be conveniently divided into three periods. The fi rst period
dates from 1960 to the mid-1970s. There was a traditional
market for palm and groundnut oil which was met by
village-level processing of domestic crops. In addition,
Nigeria exported large amounts of these oils. Soybeans were
exported in unprocessed form. “There was no domestic
demand for soybean oil, and no village-level processing of
soybean was carried out.” Disruptions from the Biafran civil
war in the late 1960s led to a sharp decline in exports of
soybeans and palm oil.
The second period, from the mid-1970s to the mid-
1980s, started with a boom in the price of petroleum,
Nigeria’s most important mineral resource. This was
followed by an over-valuation of the Nigerian currency
(Naira), which reduced the competitiveness of locally
produced products. Exports of edible oil and soybeans
ceased. Increased demand was met increasingly from large
imports, which included soymeal, groundnut cake, soybeans,
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 448
groundnuts, and palm oil. Some 50,000 tonnes of soy
oil were also imported and increasingly accepted. Cheap
imports reduced the incentives for domestic production.
There was a small local market for soybeans in Kafanchan
(Kaduna State), which was the center for the production of
a local seasoning named daddawa or dawadawa, the main
ingredient of which was locust beans. In the late 1970s
daddawa producers started substituting soybeans for locust
beans. This helped maintain a small demand for soybeans.
“In the early 1980s improved soybean varieties became
available, but were not adopted, presumably because with the
disappearance of the export market the demand for soybean
had become highly inelastic.”
The third period, from the mid-1980s onwards, saw
the occurrence of a number of changes which pushed up
the price of soybeans. In 1986 the Nigerian government
initiated a structural adjustment program (SAP) to stimulate
economic recovery. The Naira was devalued from 1 Naira
per U.S. dollar to 4 in 1986, then it further dropped to 9.25
Naira per dollar by 1991. Commodity marketing boards were
abolished and agricultural prices deregulated. The import
of major agricultural commodities such as corn, soybean
meal, and edible vegetable oils were banned from 1985
to the present. The import of soybeans and other oilseeds
was not banned. These changes stimulated production of
soybeans, oil, and meal. “Demand for soybean increased
more than other crops because around the mid 1980s
government and non-government organizations (NGOs) such
as hospitals, religious missions and health clinics started
promoting soybean consumption and its nutritional value.
This stimulated the incorporation of soybean into the local
diet and into processed food products.” The severe drought
of 1983/84 also increased the substitution of soybean for
locust bean in daddawa production. As demand for soybeans
grew, improved varieties were adopted, which reduced
costs, further stimulated production, and allowed Nigeriangrown
soybeans to compete in price with imports. Thus
the increased soybean demand was met from increased
domestic production. Soybean imports began again in 1983
but remained relatively small. Thus soybean production fell
during the second period but rose during the third, especially
after 1986.
According to the Groundnut Marketing Board, during
the 1966-68 period, soybean production in Nigeria was over
15,000 tons/year. It decreased slowly until in the early 1970s
less than 9,000 tons/year were produced, falling to less than
2,000 tons/year in the 1972-76 period. Exports ceased after
1976. These trends appear consistent with USDA export
data.
Between 1987 and 1990 the number of markets in
Ibadan (in southwest Nigeria) increased from 2 to 19 and the
number soybean retailers in these markets increased from 4
to 419! Only one Nigerian company produced soybean oil/
feedcake prior to devaluation of the currency (production