Prepared By Seed Co Agronomy Desk

Soya is a versatile and highly valuable crop.

With domestic and global demand on the rise, increasing soya production is not just an opportunity—it’s a necessity. This article explores how Seed Co’s advanced varieties and recommended practices can help farmers maximize their yields and profitability.

For individual farmers, soya is a profitable, short season crop with a quick turnaround. A well-managed acre piece of land can yield anywhere from 24 bags to 32 bags of 50kgs or (a hectare size of land can yield 3.5 to 5 tonnes) leading to significant financial returns in just over four months. Additionally, growing soya can lead to a 25% reduction in livestock feed costs by enabling farmers to produce their own feed, thereby increasing profitability across their entire farming operation.

Preparing for a Bumper Soya Harvest

To achieve high yields, it’s crucial to follow best practices, starting with careful planning. As the summer season approaches, now is the ideal time to prepare.

1. Choosing the Right Variety
   Always start with fresh, certified Seed Co seed. Certified seeds guarantee high germination rates, are screened for seed-borne diseases, and offer the best chance for a successful harvest. Seed Co offers both determinate and indeterminate varieties, each suited to different conditions:
   • Determinate varieties grow to a fixed height before flowering and are ideal for warm, fast-growing environments.
   • Indeterminate varieties continue to grow after they begin to flower, generally growing taller and adapting to a wider range of conditions.
   When choosing a variety, consider key attributes like shattering resistance, standability, and disease resistance to common ailments like red leaf blotch, frogeye, and rust.
2. Soil Preparation and Conditioning
   Soya thrives in well-drained soils with a pH range of 5.5 to 7. Since the nitrogen-fixing bacteria on the roots are sensitive to acidity, conducting a soil analysis is a crucial first step. If your soil is acidic, applying lime after the harvest is the most effective way to correct the pH. Additionally, applying gypsum during winter land preparation can improve soil structure, especially in heavy soils.
3. Fertilization and Inoculation
   Soya is a legume and can meet its own nitrogen needs through fixation, so heavy nitrogen applications are not necessary. A pre-planting application of a basal fertilizer blend (like soya blend or compound L) is usually sufficient. However, the most critical step is inoculating the seeds with a Rhizobium inoculant before planting. This introduces the beneficial bacteria that form nodules on the roots to fix atmospheric nitrogen.
   By following these practices and leveraging the benefits of Seed Co’s quality varieties, you are a step closer to achieving a profitable soya farming business.

Soya’s Role in Sustainable Farming

Soya is a key player in crop rotation systems, which are essential for long-term soil health. As a legume, the soya plant fixes nitrogen in the soil, leaving behind up to 90 kg of residual nitrogen per hectare for the next crop. This natural fertilization benefits subsequent crops like maize or wheat, often boosting their yields even with reduced nitrogen application. The table below illustrates this benefit, showing how wheat yields are significantly higher when planted after soya compared to maize, especially at lower nitrogen levels.

Beyond nitrogen fixation, soya’s early maturity and dense canopy help with moisture conservation and weed, pest, and disease control. It’s a perfect fit for both long-rotation systems (maize-soya) and short, double-cropping systems (soya-wheat).

Its applications span from affordable livestock feed protein to the production of cooking oil, margarine, milk, and soap. The crop is exceptionally rich, containing 35–45% crude protein and 20% oil. By boosting the countries soya production, Malawi can reduce its reliance on imports, saving foreign exchange and strengthening its agricultural GDP.