Development of the Soybean Industry in Africa: Safeguarding Food Security in Africa and China—A Perspective

Abstract

In 2023, the global soybean trade volume with China reached 99.41 million tonnes without any contribution from Africa. With its vast arable land, Africa has the potential to develop a strong soybean industry to increase food security, create employment opportunities, and position itself as a key exporter to China. However, soybean growth and yield are stringently linked to nodulation and nitrogen gas (N₂) fixation, as well as to photothermal effects. The soil bacteria that nodulate and fix N₂ for soybean growth are absent in African soils, which is a major constraint to soybean cultivation. However, the breeding of promiscuous soybean varieties that freely nodulate and fix N₂ with native rhizobia in African soils has been achieved. The photothermal constraint limiting soybean production in Africa has also been resolved with the discovery and testing of several genes regulating photoperiodism at the laboratory and field levels. Large-scale soybean production in Africa will nonetheless still require science, technology, and innovation (STI) partnerships for the easy transfer and/or exchange of biological materials for research among Chinese and African scientists. This study aims to identify opportunities to boost soybean production in Africa, with potential benefits including increased food security, enhanced economic growth, improved continental gross domestic product, reduced unemployment, and greater poverty alleviation through job creation while enhancing China–Africa trade. It also explores the advantages soybean production in Africa could derive from the China–Africa STI partnership under the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Action Plan (2025–2027) and the China–Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Alliance (CAASTIA), which is implemented by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the African Academy of Sciences.