WISHH strategic partner Charles Nsubuga (second from left) promoted soy as a healthy food choice on T.V. with Perry and Adams. 

Building trade for U.S. soy protein is important to American soybean farmers. That is why Daniel Adams, a soybean grower from Kentucky, was willing to take six days out of his September harvest to travel more than 7,500 miles to Uganda in East Africa to speak about the benefits of soy. Uganda’s population of 49 million is already more than 10 times that of Kentucky and is doubling every 16 years. Ugandans are interested in soy protein both as a means to boost health and to promote as business opportunities for their growing nation.  

“It is very true that you don’t know what it is like until you go [see a country],” says Adams. He is part of ASA’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health’s program committee and recommends the WISHH trade team experience to other soybean farmers. 

This past fall, Adams and WISHH Executive Director Gena Perry were key speakers at WISHH’s 2023 Soy Foods Festival in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. Other speakers included government representatives from the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports, the city of Kampala, and a representative of Ghana’s school feeding program.  

United Soybean Board funding supported WISHH hosting a variety of festival events, including television and radio interviews in advance of the festival that featured food experts and government officials who acknowledged the power of soy protein for nutritious and delicious foods.  

Both Adams and Perry noted how WISHH’s strategic partners work together with WISHH to create win-wins for both Ugandans and U.S. soybean growers. 

For example, SESACO Limited, a food company, joined WISHH at the festival to showcase the benefits of soy for both human and animal nutrition, as well as trade and development, in Africa. Ugandan-based SESACO is a strong supply chain partner and longtime importer of U.S. defatted soy flour, making it a major player in the region. Partnerships with companies like SESACO offer value to WISHH as it works in 29 countries to leverage these relationships to meet the protein needs of 8 billion consumers—the reason global food security remains a key pillar of WISHH’s work.  

SESACO CEO Charles Nsubuga has partnered with WISHH since 2011, and the company is a champion for soy foods and feeds. It signed a memorandum of understanding that led to WISHH providing SESACO with a container of U.S. soy through the USDA Quality Samples Program. The nearly 10,000 pounds of U.S. soy was instrumental in SESACO’s efforts to introduce U.S. soy’s benefits to African markets. 

Recognizing the strategic value of a relationship with WISHH, partners like SESACO go the extra mile to extol the virtues of U.S. soy in East Africa. For example, Nsubuga continues to share what he learned from WISHH with other entrepreneurs and organizations in his country. Meanwhile, WISHH continues to support SESACO’s growth with technical trainings and partnerships on educational programs.