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

was estimated at 500 tons), but in 1989 there were 6 such
producers and production was estimated at over 117,000
tons. “In addition, food processing companies had started
incorporating soybean in processed local foods, beverages,
breakfast and baby foods, presumably with the dual objective
of cutting costs and taking advantage of public awareness
of soybean’s nutritional qualities. Most of these processing
industries were started up after the devaluation of the
currency in 1986.
In Benue State, soybean was grown mainly as a cash
crop, and mainly by the Tiv ethnic group (in the eastern
half of the State), but it was also used by Tiv farmers in
96% of the villages for home consumption–often in the
preparation of daddawa or as a partial substitute for cowpea
in the preparation of local foods previously made entirely
from fried or steamed cowpea paste (moinmoin and akara).
Soybeans contain twice as much protein as cowpeas,
cost less than half as much, and are highly acceptable to
consumers. Soybeans are also less expensive than locust
beans, and their cooking time in daddawa production is about
one-fourth that of locust beans.
Table 5 shows the results of a fi eld survey on the
reasons for producing soybeans in Benue State. In the Tiv
area, 78% of the villages and 98% of the farmers were
surveyed. Percentage of those surveyed who gave various
reasons: Personal consumption / nutritional qualities 96%.
Compatible for intercropping with a variety of crops 85%.
Financial return 78%. Improves soil fertility and/or does well
without fertilizers 52%. Requires less labor 13%. Address:
International Inst. of Tropical Agriculture, P.M.B. 5320,
Ibadan, Nigeria.
1452. Karki, Tika Bahadur. 1993. Country Report 9–Nepal.
In: N. Chomchalow & P. Narong, eds. 1993. Soybean
in Asia: Proceedings of the Planning Workshop for the
Establishment of the Asian Component of a Global Network
on Tropical and Subtropical Soybeans. Bangkok, Thailand:
FAO Regional Offi ce for Asia and the Pacifi c. viii + 218 p.
See p. 79-86. RAPA Publication (FAO), No. 1993/6.
• Summary: (1) Introduction. (2) Production. (3) Observation
trials. (4) Grain legume crops improvement: Collection
and maintenance of germplasm, breeding and varietal
improvement, varieties for different ecological regions. (5)
Agronomic investigation. (6) Pathological investigation. (7)
Entomological investigation. (8) Processing: Tofu, kinema,
soy drink (and soy yogurt / dahi). (9) Marketing. (10)
Recommendations.
Tables: (1) Germplasm collection of pulses in Nepal. (2)
Area, production and productivity of soybean in Nepal. (3)
Chemical composition of kinema (on dry-weight basis).
Figures: (1) Traditional process of kinema. (2)
Preparation of kinema starter. (3) Preparation of kinema
using selected strains. (4) Marketing channel of soybean.
Table 2 shows: Area planted to soybeans grew from
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 449
18,400 ha in 1983 to 20,700 ha in 1989. Soybean production
grew from 10,100 tonnes (metric tons) in 1983 to 12,800
tonnes in 1989. Soybean yield grew from 548 kg/ha in 1983
to 611 kg/ha in 1989.
“Traditionally, soybean is consumed in various forms.
Green pods are popularly eaten as a snack food. The green
beans are consumed as a delicious vegetable curry along
with other leafy vegetables or with potato slices. The dried
soybean is roasted, dehusked and split to prepare a popular
snack item. The dried beans are soaked overnight and deepfried
in vegetable oil, salted and spiced and consumed as
another popular snack item. These recipes are developed
over a long period of time and constitute the integral
component of Nepalese food preparations.” Address: Chief,
Food Research Offi ce, CFRL, Kathmandu, Nepal.
1453. Kitamura, Keisuke. 1993. Country Report 6–Japan. In:
N. Chomchalow & P. Narong, eds. 1993. Soybean in Asia:
Proceedings of the Planning Workshop for the Establishment
of the Asian Component of a Global Network on Tropical
and Subtropical Soybeans. Bangkok, Thailand: FAO
Regional Offi ce for Asia and the Pacifi c. viii + 218 p. See p.
64-69. RAPA Publication (FAO), No. 1993/6.
• Summary: Contents: (1) Production and uses. (2) Research
activities. (3) Germplasm.
Germplasm: “Soybeans were introduced from abroad
since the old days. Genetic resources of landraces were
continuously collected and surveyed since the beginning
of this century. In recent years, a number of soybean
varieties were introduced from many foreign countries and
international institutions, including Korea, China, Nepal,
Thailand, USA, AVRDC, etc. Today the total soybean
accessions are about 6,000 including wild soybeans. They
are conserved and managed in the National Center of Genetic
Resources within the National Institute of Agrobiological
Resources.”
Figures: (1) Scheme of domestic soybean price in Japan.
(2) Geographical distribution of soybean varieties according
to their ecotypes and location of soybean breeding stations in
Japan.
Tables: (1) Planted area, production and yield of
soybean in Japan. Total planted area has decreased from
306,000 ha in 1960 to 146,000 ha in 1990. Production has
decreased from 418,000 tonnes (metric tons) in 1960 to
220,000 tonnes in 1990. Yield has increased from 1,360 kg/
ha in 1960 to a peak of 1,790 kg/ha in 1990. (2) Trends of
soybean supply and demand. Japan’s imports have increased
from 3,244,000 tonnes in 1970 to 4,330,000 tonnes in 1991,
when 97.3% of the soybeans used in Japan were imported.
Uses of soybeans in 1990: Oil 3,630,000 tonnes–up from
2,505,000 tonnes in 1970. Food 725,00 tonnes–up from
522,000 tonnes in 1970. Fermented products (miso, shoyu,
natto) 196,000 tonnes–down from a peak of 208,000 tonnes
in 1980. Animal feed 95,000 tonnes–up from 10,000 tonnes