WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — The USDA announced Aug. 25 it selected the American Soybean Assoc. (ASA) World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) program to spearhead a major poultry development project in the West African country of Ghana.

"Soybean meal is an important protein source for poultry feed," said Dave Miller, Iowa Farm Bureau Feder-ation economist and director of research and commodity services. "While chickens can grow free-range and without protein supplements, they grow and produce much better with balanced nutrition. Soybean meal can play an important role in providing that nutrition."

Founded in 2000 by U.S. soybean farmers, WISHH is a trade development organization that has worked in 24 countries to develop long-term markets for U.S. farmers while "fueling economic growth and value chain development," ASA officials said.

On Nov. 14, 2014, the ASA’s WISHH Program opened a field office in Accra, Ghana, to support its activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Josh Neiderman, WISHH’s regional manager for Africa, said the office will serve as a regional hub for current and future programming.

In July, he visited the University of Ghana’s poultry farm, where WISHH met to discuss pending projects in the area. According to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service’s Food for Progress Program, the project’s mission is to help developing countries and emerging democracies modernize and strengthen their agricultural sectors.

Moreover, ASA officials said the project’s overall goal is to develop "viable agricultural value chains in emerging markets through the transfer of technology and subsequent behavior change, resulting in long-term demand building for U.S. soy. As a result, it improves agricultural productivity and expands trade of agricultural products."

Last month, Jim Hershey, WISHH executive director, met with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service officials at the Africa Summit in Washington. There, leaders from 51 African nations discussed the continent’s economic advancement potential to focus on agricultural development there, as well as "discuss the future of projects, and larger efforts through which U.S. farmers help to sustain and develop emerging markets in Africa."

Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., the ASA stated, "U.S. soybean growers, as well as Ghana’s poultry and feed industry, and its protein-seeking consumers will all benefit."

"The ASA is pleased to partner with the USDA in agricultural development that supports expanded and mutually beneficial trading relationships," said Wade Cowan, ASA president and Brownfield, Texas, soybean grower. "Nowhere is there greater need or bigger potential return on investment in agricultural development than in Sub-Saharan Africa. WISHH is a trailblazer for trade."

According to the Department of State, the United States is among Ghana’s principal trading partners, with two-way trade between the two countries reaching $1.45 billion last year.

With an estimated population of 26.4 million and a West African hub for business growth, Ghana’s government seeks to revamp the poultry industry, which has slumped in the last 30 years, said William Brown, Ph.D., country director of Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA-Ghana), a partner in the new initiative.

"The project will contribute to increasing the supply of both meat and eggs to address ever-growing demand in Ghana," he explained. "The project could trigger the growth of poultry, maize and soy industries, which will provide employment and increased income. This will culminate in poverty reduction."

Greg Tyler, vice president for marketing at the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) in Stone Mountain, Ga., said its members believe "U.S. support of the Ghanaian poultry industry and other agricultural development programs are part of an important relationship between Ghana and the USA, which in turn will allow for a healthy trade environment between the two nations."

In addition, Kansas State University is a subcontractor in WISHH’s Assisting Management in the Poultry and Layer Industries by Feed Improvement and Efficiency Strategies in Ghana (AMPLIFIES Ghana).

Another of the multifaceted project’s goals is training Ghanaian poultry producers, procuring feed ingredients, which includes 15,000 tons of U.S. soybean meal, and promoting the use of improved poultry feeds to "improve feed milling practices and products, enhance storage and handling of feedstuffs and much more."

"Local production of poultry and poultry products in Ghana may provide more flexibility in marketing the products locally, as it may require less refrigeration in transit if the production is local rather than importing the meat," Miller said. "Soybean meal may be easier to transport, handle and store than poultry meat."