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Eyes on India
Feeding the World’s Largest Livestock Population
By Joli A. Hohenstein
With the world’s largest livestock population yet a low comparable productivity rate, India faces a huge deficit in feed and fodder, providing new opportunity for soy-based feed producers such as the U.S. As the emphasis on providing protein for meat replacement grows, what is the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) doing to meet those needs?
The organization knows the key role India will play in global population growth and agriculture expansion. So ISA has begun to implement a plan to make ISA a key part of the answer.
“India is the largest opportunity out there, and it is a democracy, and it has an educated population,” says Todd Main, Director of Market Development, ISA.
ISA engaged with the new South Asia Soy Excellence Center (SEC) in India to support workforce training and development in one of the world’s fastest growing and most important soy markets.
Why India?
According to the Economic Survey (2022-23), the Indian livestock sector – dairy, poultry meat, eggs and fisheries –recorded a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 7.9 percent from 2014-15 to 2020-21. In addition, the sector’s contribution to total agriculture Gross Value Added increased from 24.3 percent in 2014-15 to 30.1 percent in 2020-21.
“Given this rapid growth, we envision a good number of young professionals entering the protein production industry, and all of them need training to see that this growth is sustained,” says Vijay Anand, India SEC Center Lead. “The Soy Excellence Center program can help train them and make them better stewards of the industry.”
It's an industry that will continue to expand as it seeks to feed its country’s growth.
“Almost 80 percent of the Indian population don’t meet their daily protein requirements, and 90 percent of the Indian population aren't aware of their daily protein requirements,” says Anand. “Nine out of 10 people don’t meet their daily protein requirements. In a large population with economic growth and increased awareness, this means a high potential for protein need in the country.”
Currently, India is the fourth-largest feed producer in the world. (Only China, the U.S. and Brazil are higher.) Indian feed production grew 42.8 percent in eight years, according to the Alltech Global Feed Survey 2022, rising from 29 million metric tons (MMT) in 2014 to 44 MMT in 2022. Top factors driving animal protein consumption include population growth, a young population and disposable income, according to the report.
The dairy industry plays a huge role in India’s economy. Total milk production has increased by 23 percent since 2018. India is the third largest producer of poultry meat and eggs in the world, and its aquaculture production is also on the rise. The protein industry is poised for even more expansion.
Soy can play a role in this growth. “If the dairy sectors must be improved, reliance on natural fodder must reduce, and dependence on compound feed must increase,” says Anand. “Soy products that have potential in dairy feeds are a) soy hulls, b) full-fat soy and, to an extent, soy meal, too.”
For those reasons and more, ISA knew it was key to make an early impact on the growing market – and its workforce.
Training Straight to the Workforce
“We are engaging people at the most basic level and building a good win-win rela - tionship,” says Main. “We invest in them, and they in turn have positive feelings about U.S. soy. We are training the next generation of producers.”
The impact of that investment is substantial. The South Asia Soy Excellence Center in India is the program’s sixth regional center, training thousands of employees and impacting thousands of businesses worldwide. Other locations cover Central America, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The first courses for the new SEC in India rolled out this winter, targeting entry-level and mid-level protein value chain workforce members who might or might not have degrees. The goal is not only workforce training but also capacity building.
For example, this could include helping a chicken producer with 100 broilers grow to 1,000 animals. Higher productivity at protein enterprises creates jobs; expands access to protein at lower costs; and, in the long run, supports development outcomes in economic growth, food security, nutrition and health.
“The Indian livestock industry employs 8.8 percent of the Indian population,” says Anand. “This translates to 123.2 million people. Considering 0.25 percent of this as a targeted professional workforce, we will have a training base of 300,000 members.”
Two self-paced hybrid courses through the Soy Excellence Center this winter covered poultry production as well as human utilization, with more topics on the horizon. (Other SECs teach topics such as feed milling, aquaculture and soybean processing and refining.)
SEC courses go beyond simple instruction. They take a unique approach that starts with structured education and extends beyond the classroom with continuing education community pods and a network of alumni advocates.
“Obtaining a course completion certificate is not the end of the game,” Anand says. “A professional has a lot to gain from continued activity with SECs as a community member.”
The idea is to provide students with a source for ongoing learning and relationship development built around U.S. soy. In turn, this builds demand for U.S. soy among mid- to later-career professionals.
Tomorrow’s agribusiness leaders look to SECs as a pathway to growth, and ISA wants to be part of that bridge.
“We are making a difference on the ground already,” says Main.
