New project to boost yam production in West Africa
October 31, 2014
Ibadan, Nigeria — Smallholder farmers in the main yam-growing areas of West Africa will benefit from a new project that aims to develop new varieties of this crucial staple crop and enhance yam breeding capabilities and partnerships in the region.
The 5-year project, called “AfricaYam: Enhancing Yam Breeding for Increased Productivity and Improved Quality in West Africa”, will be led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) with key partners in the four main producer countries in West Africa: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, and international research organizations and universities.
In West Africa yam plays key roles in food security, income generation, and the sociocultural life of at least 60 million people. In 2013, the West Africa yam belt produced a total of 54.5 million tonnes of yam on 4.4 million hectares. This represents 90.6% of the total global production and 88% of the total world area planted to yam.
The yam sector in the West Africa subregion, however, is plagued by low on-farm productivity, high production costs, high losses due to pests and diseases, and unsustainable production practices. High production costs are primarily driven by the high costs of seed and labor, with potential profit margins further reduced by moderate yields and postharvest losses. The most important constraints are nematodes, viruses, and anthracnose which will continue to grow in economic importance as yam production systems are intensified unless resistant varieties and beneficial cultural practices are adopted.
“Yam breeding can make major contributions to addressing this situation. The new project AfricaYam will raise the capacity for yam breeding in West Africa by developing high-yielding and robust varieties of white and water yams preferred by farmers and suited to market dem ands,” said Robert Asiedu, IITA Research for Development Director, West Africa. He said that important traits for breeding include tuber yield, tuber quality, and resistance to yam mosaic virus (YMV) in white yam (Dioscorea rotundata) and Yam Anthracnose Disease (YAD) in water yam (D. alata).
The project partners will work towards increasing yam productivity while reducing production costs and impact on the environmental by developing and deploying farmer-preferred varieties with higher yield, greater resistance to pests and diseases, and improved quality.
The project aims to:
- Breed for high yield, good quality of tubers, resistance to diseases (anthracnose and yam mosaic virus) and nematodes
- Establish a breeders’ community of practice for participating countries with a focus on upgrading skills in crop improvement and management of a breeding program, including national and international trials
- Test promising breeders’ lines in the region that are currently available and additional ones that will be generated during the project and identify potential new varieties for pre-release trials in each country
- Develop molecular tools to raise the efficiency of yam breeding through faster and more accurate identification and selection of plants with desirable traits
- Develop a database for curating and integrating yam research data
- Conduct training and capacity building for partners in the national agricultural research systems.
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