Today, I had the privilege of paying an unscheduled visit to a friend's farm somewhere in Oyo state and it got me thinking about the fate of yam farmers in Nigeria.

Last year, Audu Ogbe was quoted by BBC saying that yam was Nigeria's hope out of economic downturn. I laughed when I read this because it seemed like a joke to me.

If you are cultivating yam this year, I will advise that you have a good plan for drying in order to make yam flour for the Yoruba community both within and outside the country. Waiting to export your raw yam may not be feasible at the moment considering the fact that modalities in place in Ghana may not be in place yet in Nigeria. Also let me remind you that while we are the largest producers(just like Crude oil) , Ghana is the largest exporter.

On a final note, if you are planning an investment in this line, let me state that we love amala in the west so thinking of drying should be major in your plan and yam flour may not face the issue of spoilage like we experienced last year with raw yam.

Have you heard or been to Zaki Biam in Benue? I will do a post on the place soon they are the largest producer of yam in Nigeria.

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Good evening

Yam Farmers in the hood, share your experience so far this year in your basic operations.