New Project Aims to Increase Yam Production in Africa

A project that aims to improve the capacity for yam research-for-development in West and Central Africa (WCA) has received a €750,000 (USD 1 million) grant from the European Union-African, Caribbean and Pacific Science and Technology Program (EU-ACP). The project, tagged Strengthening Capacity for Yam Research-for-Development in Central and Western Africa (SCYReC), will be managed and implemented by Nigeria-based International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration with a team of national partners in 13 research institutions in the six countries. IITA said in a press release that the program is expected to benefit six WCA countries: Cameroon, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.

"We are hopeful that the project will tackle the many challenges facing increased yam production," said David Annang, project coordinator. According to the IITA, yam faces a plethora of limitations despite its contribution to food security. These include high costs of planting material and of labor, decreasing soil fertility, inadequate yield potential of varieties, as well as the increasing levels of field and storage pests, and diseases associated with intensification of cultivation.

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