Soy Excellence Center Good Initiative by USSEC Aiming to Boost Skills Development of Mid-Career Professionals Associated in the Poultry, Aqua, Livestock and Food Industry in India – Ricky Thaper
As one of the fourteen members of Regional Advisory Council (RAC) of Soy Excellence Center-India, I attended SEC India Annual Regional Global Governance meeting in Bangalore on April 02, 2025. Besides fourteen RAC members, the meeting was attended by USSEC Leadership and US Stakeholders who obtained great inputs on the Indian Protein Value Chain/Industry and the need for workshop/skill development. It was great to interact with Mr. Kevin Roepke, Regional Director, for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, USSEC and with Global Advisory Panel of SEC;Mr. Mark Reed, the new Chairman of SECs (Illinois Soybean Association), Ms. Annie Meis, Vice-Chair of SECs (Nebraska Soybean Board), Mr. David Williams (Michigan Soybean Committee) and Kellie Gypin, Focus Areas Advisor of SECs.
With global protein demand projected to grow by 15% by 2031 as the world population reaches close to 10 billion, the food and agriculture sectors face a huge challenge for providing nutritious food to large sections of the population. Referred as the ‘King of beans,’ soybeans account for a large portion of direct and indirect protein consumed around the world. About 76% of soy production is used as low-cost, quality protein for animal feed for meat and dairy production, 20% is consumed as edible oils and human food products – tofu, soy milk, and tempeh, and 4% is used for industrial purposes, primarily in the form of biodiesel.U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) ensures market access for the use of U.S. soy for human consumption, aquaculture, and livestock feed in more than 90 countries. Its members represent the soy supply chain including farmers, processors, commodity shippers, merchandisers, allied agribusinesses, and agricultural organizations. The council is funded by the U.S. soybean checkoff, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service matching funds and the industry.
Soy Excellence Center (SEC) since it’s launching in 2019, the focus of the USSEC has been to expand and include several regionals across globe and set up SECs that meet local workforce skilling needs. The aim of these centres is to build capacity and market potential of food and agriculture businesses. The focus is to ensure a future in which soy is known across the globe as a key change agent. USSEC operates SECs in five regional hubs-the Americas, Asia, India, Middle East and North Africa &Sub-Saharan Africa. SECs offers basic certificate courses in poultry, feed milling, aquaculture, and soy food and beverage to enhance industry expertise and sustainability.
These courses equip professionals with essential knowledge on feed formulations, global milling practices, aquaculture advancements and soy-based food innovations. Through expert-led training and interactive learning, the centre boosts technical skill enhancements that drive productivity and food security. By fostering a skilled workforce and promoting best practices, the centre strengthens the global soy value chain, reinforcing USSEC’s commitment. These centres globally aimed at improving health and nutrition of communities in emerging markets like India. This is achieved by strengthening the capacity and market potential of businesses within the food supply chains through training of the workforce.
US Soy is America’s No. 1 agricultural export, which contributed $31.2 billion to the U.S. economy during the last marketing year. USSEC board leaders are key to guiding growth and important contributors to U.S. Soy’s mission of differentiating and elevating a preference for U.S. Soy and attaining market access. SECs are located in key emerging soy export markets around the world and are an ‘in-the-trenches’ deployment of soy demand capacity building, where we focus on community-based education through peer-to-peer workforce training for early to mid-stage soy professionals.
From 2019 to 2024, USSEC’s SEC programs have engaged 31,400 participants, reached more than 40 different countries, held 137 structured training events reaching 17,652 participants in the 2023-24 market year alone. Grown our mobile-optimized online educational program, launched in 2022 and taught in three different languages – English, Spanish and Arabic – to a user base of more than 3,300 annual participants. By highlighting the essential role soy plays in animal and aquaculture diets, and for human food consumption, USSEC’s SEC program is growing the global demand for U.S. Soy today and collaborating to build new markets for future demand.
In February, 2024, USSEC had announced the launch of the SEC-India, targeted at early-to mid-career professionals to support its livestock and food sectors. The SEC India is in response to the growing needs which also aligns with the ‘Skills India’ initiative of the government which focuses on enhancing the skill-set of the youth to prepare them for the rising future opportunities.SEC India is addressing the nation’s increasing protein needs through capacity-building and workforce training programs. SEC India’s world-class curriculum fosters education advancement for employees and employers in agribusiness, thereby elevating expertise and competencies. Last year, SEC India and Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Breeders Association signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate work-force training and capacity building of India’s rising poultry sector.
SEC offers free online programs in poultry, feed milling, aquaculture and soy food and beverage processing. It addresses and bridges the education gap with the skills needed to feed India’s growing population. It improves health and nutrition across communities by strengthening the capacity and market potential of businesses within food and agriculture. The program also builds a global community of protein professionals who can network amongst themselves for enriching their skills sets.
The opening of SEC India had come at a time when the livestock – dairy, poultry and fisheries sector in India has emerged as a significant engine of growth in agriculture, playing a vital role in the overall agricultural landscape. According to the economic survey of India (2024-25), the livestock has witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.99%. Termed as one of the key ‘sunrise sectors’ of the Indian economy, the fisheries sector also continues to make its mark and grow at a very healthy pace registering the highest average annual growth of 9.08% in value of output during amongst allied sectors under agriculture, according to a NitiAayog report, 2024. Need for enhancing the skill needs of professionals associated with the livestock sector has become quite critical for the growth of the sector.
Home to the world’s largest population, India’s poultry sector recognizes the importance of keeping pace with the rising demand for animal protein and eggs. In 2023-24, India’s egg production, second largest in the world, was estimated at 142.77 billion. The poultry meat production was estimated at 5.09 million tonne (MT).The SEC India is currently offering training programmes which offer online and offline workshops, which covers sectors including poultry, feed milling, aquaculture and soy food and beverage processing. The training program provides participants access to modular, on-demand training resources, live seminars and workshops. It provides access to experts of the industry from the USSEC’s huge global network.
Mr. Kevin Roepke, Regional Director, for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, USSEC, emphasized the importance of investing in people, stating, human capital development is a critical driver of organization growth. Companies that prioritize their workforce achieve higher performance and strong retention. Mr. Roepke said that with India’s vibrant young force, the SEC paves the way for growth and Innovation. According to Mr. Roepke, the establishment of Soy Excellence CenterIndia exemplifies the US Soybean Export Council’s steadfast dedication to advancing Indian agriculture. Since initiating our partnership with India’s ag sector in 1996, US Soy has diligently collaborated with expertise across the poultry, aquaculture, soybean processing, and soy foods sectors.
These industries now constitute the robust, multifaceted, and proactive Regional Advisory Council, which serves as the driving force behind the SEC’s progress. The recent incorporation of a dairy curriculum underscores our acute responsiveness to the evolving demands of the industry. In the mere twelve months since its inception, the SEC India has successfully equipped over 500 entry level to mid-career professionals with critical skills. We look forward to sustained collaboration with industry stakeholders to address talent development, thereby contributing to the overarching imperative of enhancing nutrition security through heightened protein consumption.
Dr. Vijay Anand, Center Lead- India Soy Excellence Center said that SEC India program demonstrates USSEC commitment to its mission of feeding the minds of those who will feed the world, the next generation of agri-professionals. According to Vijay E. Pilli, SEC India is more than a training program, it’s a transformative platform. It’s digital continuing education community fosters life-long learning, enabling participants to engage with content, peers and experts worldwide, creating a truly global exchange of knowledge.
On April 03, 2025, all the fourteen members of Regional Advisory Council (RAC) of Soy Excellence Center-India, along with USSEC Leadership and US Stakeholders attended the inauguration of the final session (Part 3) of the Feed Formulation Lab in which around 50 participants, who had earlier completed online session of Part-1 and Part-2, were attending lectures of experts – Mr. Kemal BurakKayhan, Director, Feedback Yazilim, Türkiye, SIRRI Kayhan, USSEC, Türkiye, Dr. NC Manju, Consultant, Poultry Nutrition and Dr. Sushil Silva, Regional Head of Animal Nutrition, USSEC, SAASSA Region. The participants were given training on BestMix software.
One of the participants of these online courses noted ‘SEC’s curriculum provided him with a unique opportunity to learn about the poultry industry and the role of nutrition from a global lens,”. Another participant said the learning at the feed milling course was informative as instructors were highly knowledgeable and extensively covered the course topics.
Those professionals who are interested in attending these courses at SEC can access information at – https://soyexcellence.org and can contact for SEC-India programs:
Vijay Anand E. Pilli (vanand@ussec.org);
Jaison John (jjohn@ct.ussec.org);
Ms. Archana Udayagiri (audayagiri@ct.ussec.org);
Ms. Megha Shankar (mshankar@ct.ussec.org);
Franklin Manuel (fmanuel@ct.ussec.org)
