{"id":13049,"date":"2026-06-20T12:26:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/turning-prisoners-to-yam-farmers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:16","slug":"turning-prisoners-to-yam-farmers","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/turning-prisoners-to-yam-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning prisoners to yam farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Image<\/a>
Millions of people in West and Central Africa depend on yam as a vital source of food and income.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prison inmates participating in a yam improvement project led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Diocesan Development Services (DDS) are gaining skills on how to better cultivate the tuber crop, and are being empowered to face life\u2019s challenges after serving their jail terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conducted as a pilot study with the Prison Farm Centre in Elele, near Port Harcourt, under the United Kingdom\u2019s Department for International Development\u2014(DfID)-supported \u2018Healthy seed yam project\u2019, the project aims at creating greater availability of healthy planting material, while exp anding farmers\u2019 knowledge on improved production methods. The choice of the prison is part of efforts to help reform prisoners so that they become more useful to the society, say Drs. Danny Coyne and Abiodun Claudius-Cole, IITA scientists. To get healthy seed yam, researchers trained prison inmates on how to treat yam setts of approximately 80 grams with recommended fungicides\/insecticides before planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The yam setts were dipped in the fungicide\/insecticide solution and allowed to dry before planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the prison farm, the technology recorded more than 20% yield increase over the yield from using the conventional system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed Yam Project Officer, Nsude Anthony, says the innovation is \u2018wonderful.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am excited by the outcome. At the beginning, I never believed that such small yam setts could produce big-sized yam. This is great,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trials of the same technology on a nearby drought-hit farm recorded about 400% more seed yam using the improved method as opposed to untreated farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archibong Ibup, Assistant Controller of Prisons at Elele Prison Farm, described the results as \u2018impressive,\u2019 and urged farmers to step up the production of seed yam as its availability is limited and often of poor quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, the Prison Farm will adopt the methods introduced by IITA to increase seed production, adding that the project provided inmates with useful knowledge and skills that they can use when they return to their communities. He stressed that these skills would continue to be useful to inmates in their life time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers say that the success of the project at the Prison Farm Centre in Elele will pave the way for similar projects across the country along the yam-growing belt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumed by millions of people worldwide, yam production is stymied by the unavailability of healthy seedlings caused by pests and diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IITA and the Diocesan Development Services\u2014the two partner organizations implementing the project, intend to give participating inmates healthy seed yam to start yam production when they finally leave prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is hoped that the inmates will re-enter society armed with better knowledge and skills that would help them start a new life. END<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org<\/a>
Charg\u00e9(e) de la communication d'entreprise (Afrique de l'Ouest et Centrale)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org<\/a>
Charg\u00e9 de communication d'entreprise (international)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IITA \u2013 Si\u00e8ge
Ibadan, Nig\u00e9ria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong>
IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization established in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR<\/a>. Nous travaillons avec des partenaires en Afrique et au-del\u00e0 pour r\u00e9duire les risques pour les producteurs et les consommateurs, am\u00e9liorer la qualit\u00e9 et la productivit\u00e9 des cultures, et g\u00e9n\u00e9rer de la richesse gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 l'agriculture. Nous d\u00e9veloppons des solutions agricoles avec nos partenaires pour lutter contre la faim et la pauvret\u00e9. Notre [...] prim\u00e9 recherche pour le d\u00e9veloppement<\/a> repose sur une pens\u00e9e cibl\u00e9e et autoritaire ancr\u00e9e dans les besoins de d\u00e9veloppement des pays tropicaux.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prison inmates participating in a yam improvement project led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Diocesan Development Services (DDS) are gaining skills on how to better cultivate the tuber crop, and are being empowered to face life\u2019s challenges after serving their jail terms…<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[],"news-type":[],"hub":[],"crop":[71],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[190],"class_list":["post-13049","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","hentry","crop-yam","item-year-190"],"yoast_head":"\nTurning prisoners to yam farmers - 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