Tanzania taps Chinese technology for soya milk

By EMMANUEL ONYANGO

It is unusual to find locally produced soya milk in Tanzania. But some farmers here are enthusiastic about making their own by learning from the Chinese.

Since 2022, local farmers have been learning the technology to produce milk from soya beans. Agricultural experts from China Agricultural University (CAU) have been in the country since 2022 to share their knowledge with local farmers.

A manually operated machine for grinding the soya bean in soya milk production.

China, Brazil and the US are the world’s biggest producers of soya. So it might come as no surprise that they know a thing or two about soya milk.

In Tanzania, the technology has been demonstrated in four selected pilot villages – Peapea, Kitete, Makuyu and Mtego wa Simba – in a test project in the Morogoro region. Experts said last week that the demonstration was successful.

The drink has become increasingly popular with many farmers, who see it as cheaper to produce than other plant sources.

As part of the project, the Chinese experts worked with the Morogoro regional authorities to distribute hybrid soya bean seeds to farmers in these villages, and provided on-the-ground advice on planting and management techniques to enable soya milk processing.

A shop selling soya milk.

The programme, which also aims to reduce poverty, is led by CAU, the Morogoro regional government and Tanzania’s Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).

The Morogoro region is one of the top five soya bean producing areas in Tanzania. However, the local soya bean industry remained bleak due to extensive local farming models and a lack of processing technology for soya bean products.

Prof Li Xiaoyun, the lead scientist, and his team say they have implemented an intercropping project called ‘Small Bean and Big Nutrition’. The first harvest is now underway and the yields will inform the next stage of expansion.

Prof Li’s main role is to train farmers in the village of Mtego wa Simba in Mikese Ward, about 30 kilometres on the outskirts of Morogoro Municipal Town.

Ms Xu Jin, one of the experts, explained that there are four main stages in the production of soya milk.

“The first is to soak seeds in a pail of water and leave it overnight,” she said.

“The second stage is to grind them in a hand-made machine. The third stage is filtration, and the final one is boiling the liquid, which tastes like cow’s milk.”

Morogoro and China Agricultural University Partnership maize and soya project.

Omary Jayo, 72, a retired Tanzania National Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO) technician and now a farmer, says he bought into the idea after learning the Chinese scientist’s expertise.

He says he bought a grinding machine for $23.9 and slowly began to practice. He now sells each cup for $0.18.

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