Afghanistan is 5 times bigger than Iowa and a little smaller than Texas, with a land mass of 250,000 square miles or 650,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 30 million people.
There are approximately 22 million acres of land currently under agricultural cultivation in Afghanistan. 5% of that land or 1 million acres is estimated at being currently available for soybean cultivation.
At yields of 40 bushels per acre which matches the soy yields seen in Minnesota and half the soybean yields achieved in Iowa, cultivating 1 million acres in Afghanistan with soybeans will produce approximately 40 million bushels of soy or 2 billion pounds (ibs) of soy meal cake.
Potential National Protein Implications
A person needs 65 grams of total protein per day and approximately ½ of that protein requirement for a healthy diet can be met using soy based protein.
Soy protein can be used to make soy milk and soy flour, which when used in a 10% rate is a great protein fortification for Naan bread, an Afghan staple food.
3 pounds (ibs) of soy meal cake produces 1 gram of protein. At this rate, 1 person’s annual protein needs can be met with 100 pounds of soy meal cake.
Cultivating 1 million acres with soybeans will produce 40 million bushels of soy or 2 billion pounds (ibs) of soy meal cake per year. 1 million acres of soybeans will produce sufficient protein for 20 million people.
This is sufficient protein to eliminate the entire Afghan protein deficiency that plays a large part in Afghanistan having the highest mortality rate for children under 5 years old, currently running at a stunning rate of 1 in 4.
Potential National Economic Implications
The envisioned Afghan soybean industry and using soybean derived vegetable oil used as a diesel fuel production feedstock replacement has the potential to transform the prospects for many poor, rural Afghans…
5,000 Multi Functional Platforms and 500 Fuel Reactors installed throughout rural Afghanistan could produce approximately 35 million gallons of diesel fuel. This volume of diesel production would represent approximately $70 million dollars in sales revenue and replace most of Afghanistan’s diesel imports at 2004 levels.
$70 million dollars of economic income usually results in a 7 to 1 multiplication in economic activity. At this rate, 5,000 MFP’s and 500 Fuel Reactors installed throughout rural Afghanistan could potentially result in $500 million dollars of economic activity. Adding this much economic activity into the rural communities would result in the tripling of the average rural Afghan’s per capita income, from the current level of:
$1 per day or $365 per year
to
$3 per day or $1,095 per year.
