The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture has called on the Federal Government to prioritise policies that support the development of Nigeria’s seed yam value chain.
The appeal was made by IITA Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery and Scaling, Dr Tahirou Abdoulaye, at the National Yam Advocacy Summit held on Friday in Abuja. The summit, themed “Catalysing a National Agenda for Yam Value Chain Transformation through Improved Seed Technologies,” focused on modernising yam production through innovation and policy support.
Abdoulaye described yam as Nigeria’s most valuable food crop. He stressed that strengthening the seed system is essential to improving productivity, ensuring availability, and expanding processing and export opportunities.
According to him, an efficient seed system would enable the widespread distribution of improved varieties to farmers. He added that strong demand from Nigerians in the diaspora and Caribbean markets presents significant economic potential for the country.
Abdoulaye said research has disproved the long-held belief that yam has a low multiplication rate. He cited innovations such as Single-Node Cutting, also known as leaf-bud cuttings, as transformative technologies.
“These technologies are easy to adopt and adaptable to different environments. They enable rapid multiplication of high-quality seed yams with minimal inputs,” he said.
He noted that scaling such innovations would help bridge yield gaps, reduce production losses, and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in export markets. IITA, he added, is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to promote technical expertise and innovations across the yam value chain.
Head of Station, IITA Abuja, Prof Beatrice Aighewi, highlighted the Seed System Innovation for Vegetatively Propagated Crops in Africa initiative. She explained that the project promotes yam multiplication using leaf cuttings, enabling farmers to generate large quantities of clean planting material from a small mother plant.
Aighewi identified poor-quality seed as a major constraint to production. She noted that average yields range between eight and 10 tonnes per hectare, compared to a potential 30 tonnes.
“Seed accounts for up to 60 per cent of yam production costs, making it the single most expensive input,” she said. She added that effective policy regulation and quality assurance systems are critical to accelerating the adoption of improved varieties.
A senior programme officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Audu Grema, described yam as one of Nigeria’s most profitable crops but said its economic potential remains underutilised.
President of the National Association of Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers, Dr Simon Irtwange, commended Bola Tinubu for signing into law the repeal of the 1986 yam export prohibition. He described the move as a major step toward expanding Nigeria’s participation in international markets.
Irtwange recalled that Nigeria made its first modern export of yam to the United Kingdom in 2017, marking an early effort to position the crop as a global commodity.
Stakeholders at the summit agreed that policy support, improved seed systems, and technology adoption are critical to transforming Nigeria’s yam industry into a globally competitive sector.
