Fostering entrepreneurship to help provide a sustainable clean seed yam production system in flood prone areas of Idah, Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe article outlines some of the findings and insights achieved from efforts to establish a sustainable seed yam (Dioscorea rotundata) supply system in Idah, Kogi State, Nigeria. The activity was part of a project entitled “Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa,” spanning from 2012 to 2016, and this article covers the results of a novel and ambitious intervention designed to establish seed yam entrepreneurs as part of a wider initiative to establish a sustainable seed yam value chain in an area where none had previously existed. Seed yam production by the entrepreneurs was based on the adapted yam minisett technique (AYMT) and results between 2013 and 2015 suggest that the agronomic performance of AYMT under “farmer-managed” conditions was good, with reasonable yields of yam and an average weight (0.8 kg) in the required range for grade 1 seed yams. The entrepreneurs achieved a good economic return (gross margin) and this translated into a return on investment of around 400–600%. However, for the seed yam system to be sustainable in the Idah area, there is a need to establish a value chain that links traders with growers.