Improving Livelihoods in Rural West and Central Africa through Productive and Competitive Yam...
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Transcript of Improving Livelihoods in Rural West and Central Africa through Productive and Competitive Yam...
Improving Livelihoods in Rural
West and Central Africa through
Productive and Competitive Yam
Systems
R. Asiedu, IITA
Goal
The yam sub-sector contributes to food security
and poverty reduction in West Africa
Purpose
Producers increase yield, reduce storage losses, and improve seed supply.
Processors and traders target markets for diverse yam products.
IFAD-TAG 457
This is a follow-up to IFAD-TAG 457, which brought
together teams in each of five countries (Nigeria, Benin,
Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire) to work on major
problems of yam production from 2000 to 2004.
Objectives of TAG 457
Increase the availability of: •technologies for improving/maintaining soil
fertility and for managing pests (including
weeds) and diseases in a sustainable fashion
•improved varieties of the major cultivated
species of yams in West Africa
•improved postharvest technologies
Principal Implementing Agencies•Centre National de la Recherche Agronomique
(CNRA), Cote d’Ivoire
•Crops Research Institute (CRI), Ghana
• Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du
Benin (INRAB), Benin
•Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique
(ITRA), Togo
•National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI),
Nigeria
Collaboration with other institutes
•Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche
Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Benin
•Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS), Cote
d’Ivoire
•Natural Resources Institute (NRI), UK/ South Pacific Yam
Network (SPYN)
Links with other Projects •Root & Tuber Improvement Programme (RTIP), Ghana
•Root & Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP), Nigeria
•Programme pour Developpement des Racines et Tubercules
(PDRT), Benin
•Marketing and Local Initiatives Support Project, (PACIL), Cote
d’Ivoire
•INCO-Yam Postharvest Project (West Africa)
•IITA/GTZ/CSIR Seed Project (WASDU/WASNET)
Germplasm
Evaluation of local landraces
Bénin: 150 accessions
C. d’Ivoire: 266 (141 D. alata & 125 D. rotundata)
Ghana: 251 (125 & 126)
Germplasm Delivered by IITA to Partners
Country No. D. rotundata clones2000 2001 2002
Benin 234 0 11
C. d’Ivoire 73 3 20
Ghana 169 62 12
Nigeria 104 29 79
Togo 166 0 12
Farmer participatory evaluation
Bénin: 19 farmers 41 genotypes 5 sites
C. d’Ivoire: 300 farmers 6 genotypes Ghana: 88 farmers, 48 genotypes, 3 districts
(on-farm) 90 farmers, 100 genotypes 3 sites (on-station)
Nigeria: 54 farmers, 54 genotypes, 6 states
Germplasm
Varietal releases– Nigeria (3 in 2001; 4 in 2003)– Ghana (3 in 2005)– Cote d’Ivoire (first inspection)
Final stages of testing water yam in Nigeria for formal
release (at least 15 ADPs involved)
Germplasm
Economic advantages of using healthy seeds in
yam cultivation (Togo, Nigeria)
Farmers’ Perceptions and factors associated
with willingness to adopt hot-water therapy for
disinfecting seed yams
Seed Health
0
20
40
60
80
Germination Vigour Yield Ware yam Flesh quality
Worse
No difference
Better
Farmers' appreciation of effectiveness
75
4450
41 41
19
6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80%
Prod. Scale Fear Bulkiness Labour Equ. Cost Insuf.Income
Other
Constraints identified by participant farmers
Process that led to the proposal
•workplan and progress review workshop at Parakou, north
Benin Republic in February, 2003 (coordinators of all three
root crop investment programs attended)
•in-country stakeholder workshops and document reviews
(organized in Ghana in April and Nigeria in May 2003 by
RTIP and RTEP, respectively)
•SC meeting at Umudike in June 2003 to produce
summary of priority areas for the proposal
•drafting and submission of proposal
Participating Countries
The five countries in TAG 457 (Nigeria, Benin, Togo,
Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire) and Cameroon
The addition of Cameroon, facilitated by knowledge of
formulation of a country programme on root and tuber
crops there, completed coverage of the ‘yam belt’.
These six countries account for 92% of the world’s
annual yam production of about 40 million metric tons
Towards Implementation
Proposal approved in September 2004
Stakeholders’ workshop in November 2004
Call sent out in December 2004 for proposals for small grants from potential partners for execution of selected project activities
A three-member Research Advisory Committee (RAC) will apply published guidelines in evaluating proposals. The coordinator of PRONAF has already kindly agreed to serve on the committee to bring in some inter-TAG benefits.
Criteria for assessment:
(i) co-financing by IFAD investment or other development projects
(ii) scientific quality,
(iii) clarity of strategy for participation of potential end-users (especially women and the poor) and for feedback,
(iv) feasibility of proposed sub-project within a three-year time frame,
(v) research attainment or experience of the researchers on the subject (multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional teams are preferred)
(vi) portability of value-added opportunities outside the Project area.
TAG and Country Programmes
Joint planning and monitoring of activities plus co-financing
Technologies developed in the TAG will be much more likely to be tested and disseminated through the investment programmes.
5.3% of total TAG budget (ca. $26,000 per year) allocated to facilitating the links with IFAD investment projects.
Funds are allocated for national level coordination, including partial funding of national workshops on yams, in order to enhance in-country collaboration in yam research and development.