Nigeria produces a wide range of agricultural commodities, amongst which are soybean, maize, rice, cowpea (beans), sorghum, guinea corn, wheat, yam, cassava, potato, etc. Apart from being used as food, many of these crops are also used as raw materials in the manufacturing industry.

Among the crops used as raw materials in the manufacturing industry is Soybean. The crop is grown in many states across Nigeria. Major Soybean producing states in the country are Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Benue, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Kwara, Oyo, Jigawa, and Taraba State.

The cultivation of soybean has increased year over year due to the rapid growth of the livestock farming and food processing industry.

Soybean is used as a protein source in the preparation of livestock feeds especially poultry feeds. It is also used in the production of vegetable oil, baby food, drinks, etc.

Any farmer that goes into soybean farming will always smile to he bank because there is always a high demand for the crop. The demand has exceeded supply in recent time, reason why the price of the crop has now gone from about N150,000 per ton to over N300,000 per ton at the time of writing this report.

Getting Started

1. Choice of Land: The first thing to consider when going into soybean farming is to choose the right farmland. Several factors to consider in choosing this include security of farm location, soil fertility, and access to farm laborers. Any well drained sandy loam or loamy soil can be used for soybean farming.

2. Land Preparation: After getting a suitable farmland, the next step is to clear the land and prepare it for farming. This involves clearing the land of bushes, fumigating it against pests and insects, ploughing and ridging. Use any method (Mechanical, Chemical & Manual) that can adequately remove weeds and keep the soil loose for good seedbed. At this stage, you can apply a mixture of poultry manure and rice husk to the soil in order to improve the soil organic matter and the ability of the soil to retain moisture, nutrients and proper aeration.

Planting The Right Seed Variety: Choosing the right soybean seed variety will determine the yield the farm will generate. Every farming community has a variety that performs well in the area. Always go for a hybrid variety. Plant 50–70 kg of seeds per hectare so as to obtain a plant population of 444,444 plants per hectare.
Plant 3 to 4 seeds per hole at a spacing of 75 cm between rows and 10 cm between stands. Alternatively, drill seeds at 50–75 cm between rows and 5 cm within rows. For the early maturing varieties, a spacing of 50 cm between rows and 5–10 cm within rows is recommended because they respond better to narrow spacing than the late maturing varieties. Do not sow seeds more than 2–5 cm deep.

Deeper planting may result in loss of vigour or failure of seedlings to emerge. (IITA)

3. Fertilizer Application: Apply 150Kg (3 bags) of Super Phusphate (SUPA) fertilizer per hectare at planting and 100Kg (2 bags) of NPK at between 4 – 6 weeks after planting.

Weed Control:

4. Manual Weeding: Carry out the first weeding at 2 weeks after planting and the second at 5–6 weeks after planting. Avoid weeding immediately after rainfall as this would lead to transplanting the weeds. Poor hoe weeding or delay in weeding could cause significant reductions in soybean yields. (IITA)

5. Herbicide Application: Herbicides, if used properly, are safe and effective in controlling weeds in soybean. The choice, however, depends on the predominant weed species and the availability of the herbicide. Herbicides are available for pre-emergence or post-emergence weed control. If the herbicide is applied at planting, one weeding may be required at 5–6 weeks after planting. (IITA)

6. Pest Control

Several different insects occur in soybean fields but few are of any economic importance, and the species that cause damage are usually not abundant enough to make control measures necessary. In the vegetative stage, the crop is very tolerant of caterpillars but very susceptible to attacks by silverleaf whiteflies. From flowering stage onwards, soybean becomes attractive to pod-sucking bugs that can seriously reduce seed quality. Insect pests can be controlled with a single spray of Cypermethrin + Dimethoate 10 EC at the rate of 100 mL in 15 L of water.


Expected Yield of Soybeans Per Hectare

The average yield of soybean in Nigeria is 2 – 4 tons per hectare. With adequate rainfall and applying good farm practices, you should expect to get a minimum yield of 2.5 tons per hectare of farm cultivated.

Profitability

It cost an average of N198,000 to cultivate soybeans on 1 hectare of farmland. This includes the cost of farmland lease, land preparation, hybrid seeds, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizer, etc. With the average cost of soybean going for N200,000 per ton, one can get a return of (N200,000 x 2.5) N500,000 from cultivating 1 hectare of farmland, translating to about N300,000 in gross profits.


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