NEW YORK, United States of America, March 7, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The Government of Japan has approved the amount of US$ 630,000 to fund the project titled “Supporting food and nutrition security in Sudan through soybean processing”. The project addresses the local production and processing of soybean in Sudan, and comes in line with the national priorities reflected in the ongoing Country Programe implemented by UNIDO. The launching is scheduled in April 2016, and constitutes the second phase of the UNIDO–Sudan soybean value chain development programme implemented in 2014 where Japan contribution amounted US$ 500,000.
The new funding is expected to further promote the utilisation of locally produced soybean in agro-industries and among Sudanese households, through soybean productions and processing; thereby creating jobs and contributing to poverty reduction. It aims at building capacities in the production premium quality soybean beans for local industries, processing of value added soy products including soy milk and soy cake, and as an important component of poultry feed. The project will also address linking soybean producers to the local market end-users.
Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Hideki Ito expressed his pleasure to make another contribution to develop a viable Sudanese business on this strategic crop of soy bean. He said “I hope this second project will further enable the Sudanese farmers, researchers, business people, and consumers to get more familiar with this precious crop. It is an invaluable crop to the lives of the Japanese people. I wish to see a possibility of soy bean playing a role in adding a new dimension to the bilateral relationship between the two countries”.
UNIDO Representative, Mr. Khaled El Mekwad commended the valuable cooperation between UNIDO and Japan for the benefit of Sudan. “The dissemination of soy bean processing and consumption culture in Sudan will allow a larger population to consume food with a higher nutritive value at a more affordable cost. The Sudanese pilot experience may be shared at a later stage with other countries in the region” he added.
