Ghana has overtaken Nigeria in yam exportation as the quality of the produce from Nigeria has dropped due to high dependent on traditional planting system, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture has said.

The institute’s Project Manager, Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa, Dr. Nobert Maroya, said this in Ibadan during a meeting of the IITA’s scientists with top seed production companies from different parts of the country.

He, however, said that the project had developed high ratio propagation technologies such as vine cuttings, aeroponics and bioreactor to address the constraints of quality and multiplication in seed yam production.

Maroya told participants that for Nigeria to profit from the huge financial gain in yam exports, it must develop efficient seed production, distribution and quality assurance systems.

These, he stressed, were the steps taken by Japan and Ghana that placed them ahead of Nigeria among the yam exporting nations.

He said, “In Japan, beer and spirit are extracted from yam. Japan is now producing yam by using vine, which the farmers plant with machine. The way they are going, they will soon become the biggest producer of yam even though it originated from Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

“Ghana yam exporters have an association that determine quality and quantity of yam meant for export. Nigeria began the exportation of yam a long time ago when the product was being exported to Europe from Nasarawa State. At a point, the yam was rejected because of low quality.

“Many yam producers in Nigeria now want to go back to that era. But we need organisation. The IITA cannot help in exportation business. Ghana is well organised and they maintain the market. The farmers are getting their foreign currency; Nigeria can do the same.”

Maroya, however, said that the objective of the IITA was to help increase the quality of the produce, adding that there must be quality control in each stage of yam production.

The YIIFSWA coordinator said that yam production and foreign earnings from exportation would improve rapidly if the newly developed system was embraced by farmers.


http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/ghana-overtakes-nigeria-in-yam-exports/

With the nature of our economy today I just pray we will not be overtaken by other African countries in every good thing.

Giant of africa.

No wahala,we will get there

Don't mind those IITA people, what is IITA doing to put Nigeria back into exporting yam. This oil is a curse on Nigeria. The government should wake up from its slumber.

^^^Shame on you. Be waiting for IITA when reasonable people are taking advantage of this gap.

This is an opportunity for the discerning mind.

olerismith:
Don't mind those IITA people, what is IITA doing to put Nigeria back into exporting yam. This oil is a curse on Nigeria. The government should wake up from its slumber.

It should rather be, what are Nigerians doing to put Nigeria back into the number one position?

olerismith:
Don't mind those IITA people, what is IITA doing to put Nigeria back into exporting yam. This oil is a curse on Nigeria. The government should wake up from its slumber.

Right ,we must mind our selves.No need to depend on WHO,IITA,UNICEF.
The question is where to buy rooting hormone, How to popularise the technology.Badmouthing IITA will not take us far.

Japan? There own system must be hi-tech.

Shey nh yam wey never reach us we wan dey export before ni.. My president is capable. He will surely correct all the shortcomings in the country.. If you believe say amen by clicking on the Like button.

Angola overtook us in being the biggest producers of crude oil in Africa, Malaysia took our palm nuts and became the biggest producers of palm oil before being surpassed by Indonesia in 2006, and now Ghana and Japan have overtaken us as the biggest exporters of yam. SMH, just pitiful...

Abakaliki Farmers how far? Waiting happen this year? Introvert go behind me

So yam thread make front page, as in ordinary yam? Or is yam an acronym of a political term?

This is an opportunity am seeing...

When no one looks into local production. That's what you get.

Wisdomkosi

japan too dey export yam? Na wa oo

What do you expect after the Minister of Agric ,Adesina was moved to Information, Adesina

Kindly ignore this tirade!!!

jiggamangh

its all buhari's fault. Come back jonathan

Boko Haram, why ?

Hmm change. ......negative change indeed

Yeah

What a terrible shame. Anyway, you can't mess with the Japs. They're 1 million years ahead of us in all positive areas of human endeavor.

ok