Title of Report: Demonstrating Agronomic Practices to Farmers to Increase Soybean Yield – 2024
By: Tanzania Sustainable Soybean Initiative (TSSI)
🧭 A Turning Point for Tanzanian Agriculture
In July 2024, the Tanzania Sustainable Soybean Initiative (TSSI) released a landmark field report detailing the outcomes of 134 demonstration plots across seven key agricultural regions. The objective was clear: to show that smallholder soybean yields—historically stuck at a meager 0.5–0.6 t/ha—can leap toward their potential of 2.5–3 t/ha through targeted, low-cost agronomic practices.
This report is more than a technical document. It is a blueprint for evidence-based, climate-smart, inclusive agricultural transformation—and it arrives at a time when the world desperately needs such models.
🚨 The Global Context: Why Soybean, Why Now?
Across the globe, agriculture is being asked to do more than ever before:
- Feed a rapidly growing population, expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050.
- Reverse land degradation, restore soils, and adapt to erratic weather.
- Create dignified livelihoods for youth and women in rural areas.
- Reduce the climate footprint of food production systems.
Soybean stands out in this challenge. It’s a high-protein, soil-enriching, climate-smart crop that serves both food and feed markets. Yet, many countries—especially in Sub-Saharan Africa—are not tapping its full potential.
Globally, countries like Brazil, Argentina, and the USA produce soybean yields in the range of 3–4 t/ha, often with large-scale commercial farms. By contrast, African smallholders are operating well below even 1 t/ha, largely due to knowledge gaps, poor soils, limited inputs, and market barriers.
This is where Tanzania’s TSSI approach becomes globally relevant.
📈 Evidence Over Assumption: What TSSI Demonstrated
The TSSI report provides concrete field data—not theory—on how yields, profits, and farmer learning can shift when simple interventions are introduced:
| Treatment | Yield (kg/ha) | Profit Increase (TShs/ha) |
|---|---|---|
| Farmer practice (no input) | 1,121 | – |
| Inoculant | 1,651 | +471,634 |
| Phosphorous (P) | 1,732 | +364,636 |
| P + Inoculant | 1,956 | +531,961 |
In short: triple the yield, double the profit, no complex input packages needed.
Even better, liming acidic soils by just 2 t/ha led to a 5–10% additional yield gain—especially critical for regions like Njombe and Iringa.
🌾 Smallholder-Focused, Youth-Inclusive, Gender-Smart
What sets this initiative apart is not just the agronomy—but the method of engagement:
- 8,078 farmers reached; 50% were women.
- 5,023 directly involved in demo plot setup, data collection, and observation.
- 121 extension agents trained, with strong inclusion of female officers.
- Youth lead farmers were tested as scalable extension ambassadors.
This matters deeply in a continent where 70% of food is produced by smallholders, and where youth unemployment and rural-urban migration remain pressing issues.
🌐 Global Lessons: Tanzania as a Living Laboratory
Countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America are grappling with similar challenges: low yields, underperforming legumes, and untapped smallholder potential.
- In Ghana and Nigeria, soybean productivity is rising but still hindered by inconsistent extension systems.
- In India, government-backed demonstrations have raised pulse crop yields, but scale-out remains uneven.
- In Zambia and Malawi, inoculant adoption is increasing—but without good seed, gains plateau.
Tanzania now presents a tested “whole-field solution” model:
Combine quality seed, minimal but strategic inputs (P, lime, inoculants), simple plot design, and strong farmer involvement—and you create a scalable, sustainable, profitable pathway for transformation.
🌍 Strategic Alignment with Global Priorities
The TSSI results align powerfully with several global development agendas:
- FAO’s 1000 Digital Villages Initiative (digital extension & knowledge loops)
- Africa Union’s CAADP and Malabo Goals (6% annual agricultural growth)
- UN SDG 2 – Zero Hunger (end hunger, double productivity of small-scale food producers)
- COP commitments on sustainable land use and climate-smart agriculture
- World Bank and IFAD programs focusing on legume commercialization, soil health, and youth in agriculture
Tanzania is not just catching up—it’s becoming a reference point.
🚀 What’s Next?
The 2024 TSSI demonstration report is a springboard for:
- Policy uptake: Incorporating soybean intensification into national Agriculture Master Plans (AMP 2050), with AGCOT as a flagship vehicle.
- Private sector partnerships: Especially in seed systems, input supply, and aggregation.
- Digital dashboards: Scaling real-time farmer monitoring, training, and data sharing.
- Regional replication: Sharing the TSSI model with other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.
💡 Final Thought
In a world chasing resilient food systems, Tanzania’s 2024 soybean demonstration plots are not just an agricultural success story—they are a roadmap.
They show that with the right combination of science, simplicity, and social systems, transformation is not only possible—it is already happening.
📄 Download the Full Report: