Abstract
Despite the nutritional and other advantages of cocoyam over some tuber crops, it remains neglected, underutilised, and non-commercialized in many parts of Nigeria. The study assessed the potentials for the commercialisation of cocoyam. Specifically, it assessed farmers’ awareness of the uses of cocoyam, level of cocoyam cultivation, farmers’ attitude towards its commercialisation, and the constraints to its commercialisation. Two-stage random sampling technique produced 154 respondents and an interview schedule was administered to collect data. Descriptive statistics and the multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. Results revealed that farmers’ mean age, farming experience and farm size were 53.9 years, 22 years, and 4.3 acres respectively. The level of awarenessof the uses of cocoyam was high (73.52%) and had an averagely positive attitude (mean score = 2.38) towards its commercialisation. Cultivation of cocoyam was mostly on a subsistence level among the farmers (97.3%). High susceptibility to pests and diseases (MS = 3.13) and a higher preference for other tuber crops (MS = 3.09) were the major constraints to the commercialisation of cocoyam. Farmers’ age (β = –0.008), level of education (β = –0.046), household size (β = –0.012), and frequency of extension contact (β = 0.018) determined farmers’ attitude towards its commercialisation. The study concluded that the potentials for the commercialization of cocoyam was appreciable in the study area. Findings underscore the need for research on cocoyam pest and diseases control as well as breeding ofimproved varieties of the plant by National Root Crops Research Institutes.
 Key words: attitude, commercialization, neglected, under-utilized and cocoyam
Highlights
Issues such as ending world hunger, eradication of poverty, and the assurance of food and nutrient security have remained on the front burner influencing world policies over the years
With the great expanse of arable land and fertile soil that support the cultivation of root crops, Oyun Local Government Area (LGA) has the potential to harness the opportunities in the commercialization of cocoyam
Socio-Economic Characteristics of Farmers Table 1 shows that majority (80.7%) of the farmers were above 45 years of age
Summary
Issues such as ending world hunger, eradication of poverty, and the assurance of food and nutrient security have remained on the front burner influencing world policies over the years. Africa is the world’s most food insecure continent, with relatively high and widespread inequalities, high rates of malnutrition and poverty, low rural incomes, and a worsening food trade balance (World Bank, 2007). More than 243 million people constituting about 27.4% (almost four times that of any other region in the world) of the continent’s population suffer from severe food insecurity (FAO, 2018). The situation is more worrisome in sub-Saharan Africa where the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) is highest, affecting an alarming 22.7% of the population with an increase of almost three percentage points between 2014 and 2016. The majority of the poor and hungry are farm families who rely on agriculture for livelihood (FAO, 2019)
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