We Are Tomodachi Autumn 2017

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8Improving Kenya’s Soybean Supply Chain to Support Smallholder FarmersWhenever East Africa experiences a drought, there is a decrease in the harvest of corn—the country’s main staple food—which drives prices up and threatens the livelihoods of the people. To help stabilize the food supply, the Government of Kenya has turned its focus to the soybean, a nutritious protein source and a crop that can be harvested in a short period of time. In 2011, funded by the Japanese government, the Kenya Industrial Ministry together with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) built three soybean processing factories to promote the spread of locally produced and locally consumed soybeans.Joining these efforts to expand soybean consumption, Tomoko Yakushigawa was posted to Kenya’s Migori County near the border of Tanzania when she became a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in 2014. “To get more people eating the soybean flour produced at the processing factories that were built, we asked the local women to help us think of ways to use the flour in Kenyan cooking, and we traveled to schools and hospitals to teach the nutritional value of soybeans."But as her efforts progressed, she realized that there was a fundamental problem: Kenya had almost no established supply chain for raw materials. As a result, farmers were unable to earn a stable and continuous income through the production of farm products.“For the farmers producing soybeans, finding a market was not easy because of limited information. Even if they found one, it was beyond their capacity to meet the amounts and delivery times that the processors demanded. Meanwhile, processing manufacturers were unable to obtain steady supplies of high-quality soybeans. This situation required a thorough solution that would improve everything from soybean cultivation to consumption.”In February 2016, Yakushigawa established Alphajiri Ltd. together with three Kenyan supporters as an organization to link farmers with the processing Feature: Hand in Hand for a Better WorldTomoko Yakushigawa Born in 1988. Graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2011 with bachelor's degrees in political science and French. She then joined the Norinchukin Bank where she learned the structure and business practices of Japan Agricultural Cooperatives. In 2014, she was posted to Migori County in Kenya as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. In 2016, she established Alphajiri Ltd.