{"id":13119,"date":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/ghana-becomes-first-country-to-launch-national-yam-strategy\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:26","slug":"ghana-becomes-first-country-to-launch-national-yam-strategy","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/ghana-becomes-first-country-to-launch-national-yam-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana becomes first country to launch national yam strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Image\"<\/a>Ghana has taken a major step ahead of other yam-producing nations with the launch of a strategy for the development of the yam industry from farm to market. This follows the global conference on yams held in Accra on 3-6 October and ongoing`strategic development for the sector.\n\nThe national yam strategy puts yam in the spotlight as a key crop to help Ghana fight poverty, enhance food security, and improve the livelihoods and income of women and men engaged in the yam sector.\n\n\u201cThe strategy envisions making Ghana the leading source of premium quality yam products with global penetration and contributing to an improved Ghanaian economy and livelihoods,\u201d says the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan. \u201cOne of the objectives of the strategy is to develop commercially-driven research and development as well as capacity building in yam value chain,\u201d he added at the inauguration of the strategy in Accra on Tuesday, 08 October 2013.\n\nThe economic value of the yam industry in Ghana has grown quite rapidly in recent years, with its foreign exchange earnings shooting up to the third position among the non-traditional export commodities in the period 2010 to 2012. Dem and for yam in both fresh and processed forms is increasing in new markets abroad and domestically. The industry faces tremendous opportunities as well as challenges and requires support policies, private sector investment,\u00a0 and to become organized as a whole value chain. The Ghana Yam Strategy is a bottom-up policy process that started in 2012. It is a private sector-led road map championed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with the support of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection.\n\nThe International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) provided technical support and process facilitation.\n\n\u201cDespite the contribution of yam, the crop has not been given the right attention. This is what this strategy aims to correct,\u201d says Mr Anthony Sikpa, Chairman of the Ghana Yam Strategy Committee.\n\n\u201cWith this strategy not only will yam be given attention, but it will also provide opportunities for all stakeholders in the yam sector,\u201d he added.\n\nIITA Director for Western Africa, Dr Robert Asiedu commended Ghana for taking the lead in developing a strategy for the tuber crop.\n\n\u201cWe also encourage other countries to emulate Ghana, by developing similar strategies that give clear direction on how to make the crop work for the poor and improve their economies,\u201d Dr Asiedu added.\n\nIndigenous to Africa, yam is a major staple contributing to food security and incomes, and also plays a significant role in the culture of the people.\n\nThe Strategy has been designed and developed to provide a holistic approach to sector development by considering both the economic and social value of yam in Ghana. \u201cThe methodology used combines IITA\u2019s experience in agriculture research- and-development with ITC\u2019s practice of participatory mechanisms and market-led planning for policy, enterprise, and sector development,\u201d said Hernan Manson, ITC Adviser for Value Chain Development, and Antonio Lopez-Montes, IITA Yam Breeder.\n\n\u201cCountry ownership and leadership have been ensured through a private-public platform in charge of building partnerships and articulating support for implementation,\u201d they added.\n\nThe platform includes approximately 200 stakeholders from the private sector, representing all areas of the industry, and support institutions (Ghana St andards Authority, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund, and National Development Planning Commission), commercial and development banks, research centers (CSIR, etc.), academia, and key ministries such as Trade, Agriculture, Finance, and Women and Children.\n\nThe Yam Sector Strategy aims at creating business and industry development with social impact while ensuring food security. It is based on five milestones:\n