Sun. Dec 22nd, 2024

NARO calls for commercialization of yams

The National Agricultural Research Organization has urged yam farmers to consider growing the crop on a large scale because it is very profit yielding in markets.

This was revealed on October 25, by Dr. Titus Alicai the yam coordinator at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) during a Namulonge field visit with representatives from the Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) in Ghana.

According to Alicai, yam is widely grown in the central and western parts of Africa. He said the crop is very lucrative in those countries to the extent that it is usually processed to manufacture other consumable products including flour and porridge.

‘’I think you have heard about garlie in Nigeria, it is highly consumed there meaning this yam is very lucrative. In Uganda the crop is widely grown but on a very small scale and if you try and visit these markets it is hard to find and you might only find one or two sellers having it but it is very expensive,’’ he said.

‘’And here they use different local terms to define it but still the planting rate is still low because you find someone has a matooke plantation or maybe cassava that they are relying on for sale and then in the backyard they grow this yam just for their own consumption.’’

Alicai however, raised that if the same focus is put on this crop in Uganda, it can even be a life changing opportunity for many local farmers. He cited an example of Kayunga district were many farmers growing the crop on a large scale are milking large chucks of income from it.

‘’And these farmers in Kayunga do not want to work with middle men at the time of harvest to help them sell their crops because they think they will be cheated so they take these yams themselves to the markets and sell themselves.’’

In addition, he said yams unlike crops can be kept for a very long time even after harvest without getting spoilt meaning, the crop can work well for food security.

With this in mind, he disclosed that NaCRRI scientists have embarked on collaborations with organizations including the CSIR in Ghana to among others help streamline the need to embrace commercial yam farming not only in Uganda but Africa as a whole.

In so doing, he said they are undertaking further research to help to devise means on how they can improve the yam varieties in Uganda to ensure that local farmers have access to those that are not only disease resistant but also generate good yield returns.

‘’That is why we have initiated research on it because we know it’s a crop with extremely high potential for food security and nutrition and income and can also perform well in the climatic conditions in the country because we have the traditional ones that people are growing here in the country although on a very small scale.’’

‘’So we would like to develop improved technologies to help improve the varieties of yam and this is why we are collaborating with companies like IITA- Internal Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria including others and so far they have shared with us some of their best accessions and now we have a collection of over 300 clones including the local ones,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Emmanuel Chamba the leader of yam research in Ghana who was also part of the visiting team expressed his satisfaction towards the progress made in Uganda. He said the climate in the country seems to be even very friendly to commercial yam farming.  

By Ugasite

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