Senior executives from the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC) have stated that closing Nigeria’s widening animal-protein deficit requires deliberate international collaboration, data-driven feed technology, and aggressive workforce training rather than market competition with domestic farmers.
Speaking in separate interviews during the USSEC & US Soy Nigeria: Now Conference 2026 held in late June 2026, the global agricultural leaders outlined a long-term roadmap to stabilise supply chains for the country’s struggling poultry, livestock, and aquaculture sectors.
The strategic intervention comes at a critical time as local livestock feed millers battle high inflation, volatile grain yields, and severe biosecurity threats.
The Executive Director of the Soy Excellence Centre (SEC) and Sub-Saharan Africa for USSEC, Mr Brent Babb, explained that Nigeria’s massive population growth makes it a vital regional market that cannot be ignored.
He clarified that US Soy imports, which recently hit 62,000 tons after a six-year break, are structurally designed to complement, not displace, local cultivation.
Domestic commercial crushers can run at full capacity year-round, guaranteeing a steady supply of high-digestibility amino acids and reliable energy values for animal diets.
The partnership goes beyond shipping raw commodities to exchanging advanced climate-smart farming techniques.
Director with the US Soybean Export Council, Ms Cindy Pulskamp, shared operational insights from her family’s multi-generational farm in North Dakota, which maintains one of the lowest carbon footprints globally through precision agriculture.
She detailed how US farmers utilise GPS-guided field passes, protective cover crops to stop soil erosion, and drone technology for targeted crop protection.
Addressing Nigeria’s severe post-harvest storage losses, Ms Pulskamp noted that adapting modern moisture-control and storage systems is essential to protect local harvests from high tropical humidity.
The measurable economic impact of the intervention is being driven by human capital development. The Chair of the Soy Excellence Centre Global Advisory Panel, Mrs Anne Meis, revealed that more than 1,200 Nigerians graduated from free SEC professional courses this year alone, pushing total participation past the 5,000-student milestone.
Field surveys confirm that the training has delivered immediate operational breakthroughs; for instance, local companies like Dunn-Maid Farms successfully slashed bird mortality rates through upgraded biosecurity, while several regional feed mills increased their automated pellet production by 15 to 20 per cent.
While acknowledging that fluctuating currency financing and inflation remain tough hurdles, USSEC executives reaffirmed their long-term commitment to getting affordable, quality protein onto Nigerian tables.
Source: Premium Times
