Analysis of Yam Minisett technique adoption in Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhite yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.) is an important tuber crop grown throughout West Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Propagation of the crop is primarily vegetative, through the use of small whole tubers (seed yams) and cut pieces of tuber (setts) planted to produce the larger tubers (ware yams) that households consume and sell. The Yam Minisett Technique (YMT) was introduced in Nigeria in the late 1970s as a means of increasing the production of seed yams. The YMT is different from many other agricultural technologies in that it requires farmers to do something – cut their tubers into small pieces – which they feel based on experience is potentially damaging as it causes rot. Indeed, the existing literature suggests that adoption of the YMT tends to be low and variable. However, to date there has been no systematic analysis of the existing literature on YMT adoption designed to explore which factors are reported to be the most important and why. Hence, the objective of this paper is to analyze the YMT adoption studies published to date to explore which factors are particularly important, and how this may help guide future research in YMT adoption. The results suggest that uncertainty – risk and ambiguity aversion – as perceived by farmers is a key consideration in YMT adoption and needs to be considered in future work.