{"id":13118,"date":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/global-yam-conference-calls-for-more-investments-on-yam-research-and-development\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","slug":"global-yam-conference-calls-for-more-investments-on-yam-research-and-development","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/global-yam-conference-calls-for-more-investments-on-yam-research-and-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Global yam conference calls for more investments on yam research and development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/global-yam-festival.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10004\" src=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/global-yam-festival.jpg\" alt=\"Global Yam Festival\" width=\"250\" height=\"171\" \/><\/a>Increasing funding for research  and development on yam will help unleash the potential of the crop, improve livelihoods, create jobs  and enhance food security in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers, policymakers,  and representatives from the private sector at the first ever global yam conference in Accra, Ghana, say that recent investments in yam research are paying off,  and demonstrating the crop\u2019s greater potential than what is being realized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSustaining  and enhancing funding support for yam research  and development backed by political will are needed to unlock the crop\u2019s full potential,\u201d said the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Nteranya Sanginga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He praised the government of Japan, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation,  and the West  and Central African Council for Agricultural Research  and Development (CORAF\/WECARD) for supporting IITA on yam research  and called on researchers to develop a vision for the crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Known as the \u2018king of crops\u2019 because of its contribution to incomes  and food security, yam also has high cultural value especially in traditional marriages in Africa. However, the crop is under-researched due to low funding  and this has limited the potential of the crop for alleviating poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we attract more investments to advance  and exp and yam research globally, the anticipated benefits  and impacts will be quite enormous,\u201d says the Ghanaian Minister for Food  and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Represented by the Deputy Minister for Food  and Agriculture, Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, the minister said that there was a need to \u201csoberly rethink through research- and-development,  and invest our limited resources judiciously to ensure best results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Dr Yemi Akinbamijo noted that in spite of the contribution to food security  and incomes, African crops such as yam have not comm anded the attention they deserved,  and have as a result remained underutilized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYams are unexploited in several aspects: actual yields are lower than potential, utilization is low for instance in animal feeds,  and potential for diversification of yam products among others is unexploited,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commending IITA for its contribution to yam research  and development, Dr Akinbamijo said that the key to unlocking the potential of yam lies in science  and technology  and empowerment of the producers, marketers,  and consumers to take advantage of what research offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to him, \u201cthe challenge is to mobilize the investment required to conduct research  and develop the yam value chain into a profitable enterprise for small  and large-scale operators alike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Global Conference on Yams underway now in Accra, 3-6 October 2013, provides a platform for stakeholders to explore recent innovations in yam improvement, share lessons learned, identify research  and development needs,  and develop global alliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Robert Asiedu, IITA Director for Western Africa,  and the Convener of the Global Conference on Yam said that the event provided a platform for consultation  and development of a global strategy for improving the yam sector based on genetic enhancement; crop protection  and mitigation of risks due to pests, diseases  and climate change; conservation of genetic resources; prevention of postharvest losses; improved seed systems; crop diversification;  and enhancing industrial potential of yam  and improved market access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ultimate goals of the event are to establish: (i) a global alliance for yam improvement; (ii) gain more investments to advance  and exp and yam R4D agenda globally,  and (iii) contribute to the strengthening of R&amp;D capacity  and human resource development for sustainable yam improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robert Asiedu, <a>r.asiedu@cgiar.org<\/a>;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lava Kumar, <a>l.kumar@cgiar.org<\/a>;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Godwin Atser, <a>g.atser@cgiar.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.iita.org<\/a><br>The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is one of the world\u2019s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition,  and poverty. Its award-winning research for development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality  and productivity, reduce producer  and consumer risks,  and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a non-profit organization founded in 1967 in Nigeria  and governed by a Board of Trustees. IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana\/plantain, yam, cassava,  and maize. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Increasing funding for research and development on yam will help unleash the potential of the crop, improve livelihoods, create jobs and enhance food security in Africa&#8230;<\/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":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[191],"class_list":["post-13118","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","hentry","item-year-191"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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