ASA/WISHH Country Representative, R.S.N. Janjua, and other members of the Pakistan team present thank you gifts to Lucas Heinen, Dennis Hupe and IGP staff.

Last week the American Soybean Association/World Initiative for Soy in Human Health program (ASA/WISHH) brought a team from Pakistan to Kansas State University as part of the USDA funded FEEDing Pakistan project. The course, led by KSU’s International Grains Program and funded by the Kansas Soybean Commission, was focused on soy-based feed manufacturing and the nutritional benefits of soy-based aquaculture feed. Participants in the training represent feed manufacturing companies, academia and fish farmers. At least one company represented is currently exploring the production of soy-based aquaculture feed in Pakistan. From KSU, participants traveled to the University of Arizona for continued training and a visit to the Desert Tilapia Farm. This week the team is attending the World Aquaculture Society Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Launched in 2011, WISHH’s FEEDing Pakistan has assisted approximately 2,000 Pakistani fish farmers and helped increase the market value of fish produced—tilapia—from zero at the beginning of the project to an estimated 450 mill rupees ($4.5 million USD) in 2014.  FEEDing Pakistan tilapia averaged 600 grams per fish–double the weight of traditional Pakistan fish harvests.

“The American Soybean Association’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health program is pleased to bring this Pakistani trade team to Kansas State as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) FEEDing Pakistan project,” said Kansas Soybean Association First Vice Chairman Lucas Heinen who also chairs the WISHH Program Committee. “WISHH is a trailblazer for trade. We know from past delegations that these trainings are a win-win-win for the participants as well as Kansas soybean growers and equipment manufacturers. Pakistani private-sector investors are interested in producing extruded, soy-based feed for their growing aquaculture industry.”

The Kansas Soybean Commission supports WISHH’s work in Pakistan, which is the sixth most populous country in the world. WISHH and KSU have worked together on this project for several years, and exports of U.S. soybeans to Pakistan are increasing.

A 2013 USDA Global Agricultural Information Network report projected a 525 percent increase in aquaculture production in Pakistan and a complementary increase in the demand for fish feed. Aquaculture production would increase from 120,000 tons in 2012 to 750,000 tons in 2022. The demand for fish feed will increase from 210,000 tons to 1.3 million tons, and soybean meal demand from 42,000 tons to 260,000 tons.

WISHH is a trade-development program, headquartered at the American Soybean Association, in St. Louis. Since U.S. soybean farmers founded WISHH in 2000, it has worked in 24 countries to develop long-term markets for U.S. soybean farmers while fueling economic growth and value chain development. For more information, visit www.wishh.org.