Soybean Breeding in Africa

摘要

Soybean is the most important legume crop worldwide and is grown mainly for itsprotein and oil rich seed, yet soybean production in Africa has largely lagged behindthe increases made in the western hemisphere. Soybean has a long history in Africawith its first production on the continent reported during 1858 in Egypt and the firstrecorded production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in South Africa during 1903(Shurtleff & Aoyagi, 2009). Despite this history and large areas suitable for the crop,soybean yields in the top soybean producing countries in Africa, other than SouthAfrica, have increased little over the last 55 years especially when compared to theUSA and Brazil (Figure 1). These low yields in SSA have resulted in poor profitabilityfor farmers which has disincentivized soybean production. The low yields result froma number of factors such as the lack of improved, adapted varieties, poor agronomicpractices, and infertile soils. Despite the current productivity limitations, Foyer et al.(2018) suggests that Africa holds tremendous potential for increasing sustainablesoybean production, even in the face of a changing global climate.