Importance of yam. The problem. Diseases.

1. Annual Review and Planning Meeting
15-18 February, 2016
IITA-Ibadan, Nigeria
K. Osei

2. Importance of yam
• Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is an important crop in
the West African sub-region
• It has tremendous nutritional properties
• A major raw material in the pharmaceutical
industry
• It gives employment to a greater percentage
of people in West and Central Africa

3. Importance of yam
• Ghana and Nigeria produce 83% of yam in
West and central Africa
• Nigeria is the World’s leading producer
• Ghana is Africa’s leading exporter of the crop

4. The problem
• The yield of this food security and export crop
is on rapid decline
• Approximately half of the potential yield of
22t/ha is achieved by farmers
• Poor seed yam quality a major constraint
• Viruses and nematodes infestation of seed
yam have been implicated to reduce tuber
quality and yield of the crop

5. Diseases problem
Virus infected plant Anthracnose infected plant

6. Pests problem
Galled yam tuber by rkn Holes on tuber by yam tuber beetles
Yam tuber infested with mealy bugs Yam tuber infested with termites

7. Project background
• The community Action in improving farmer-saved
seed yam (CAY-SEED), a 3 year project has come
in to ameliorate the plight of farmers
• It is being funded by the BMGF and being
implemented in Ghana and Nigeria
• The project terminates on 31 October, 2017
• In each country, 12 communities comprising 30
farmers each have been selected
• The communities are former YIIFSWA operational
areas

8. Project background
• Thus, 720 direct beneficiaries would be
covered in both countries
• However at the end of project term, a total of
3,000 beneficiaries are expected to have been
impacted
• Six Partners (CRI, CRS, ISSER, IITA, NRCRI &
MSHR) have come together to achieve project
aim

9. Approaches
• The dwindling fortunes of yam farmers could
be salvaged through a strategy called
POSITIVE SELECTION
• Identification, tagging, monitoring and
harvesting tubers from symptomless mother
plants for seed production
(Schulte-Geldermann et al., 2012; Kakuhenzire
et al., 2013)

10. Approaches

11. Approaches
Symptomless plant Mildly infected plant

12. Approaches
• Integrated crop management practices to
control viruses and nematodes through
agronomic management
• Community capacity development for
sustainable production of quality seed

13. Approaches
Farmers tagging positively selected plants

14. Project Activities
• To achieve project objective of “improving the
quality of farmer seed yam for improved food
security and poverty reduction”, the project
operates on 5 components
• Component 1: Quality seed yam production
and agronomic technologies for improved
seed yam productivity
• Component 2: Seed yam degeneration studies

15. Project Activities
• Component 3: Gender and social dynamics
• Component 4: M E & L and cost effectiveness
• Component 5: Governance and project
management

16. Achievements (Component 1)
• Twelve (12) project communities each
selected from Ghana and Nigeria; from Ejura
and Atebubu districts and Bwari and Kwali
Area councils of FCT respectively
• Community leaders and farmers have been
sensitized on the project in both countries

17. Achievements (Component 1)
• A hundred and twenty (120) farmers each
were selected for positive selection activities
(from treatment 1 communities) in both
countries
• Training of trainers on positive selection and
yam quality management protocol was
conducted (52); comprising 41 and 11 trained
in Ghana and Nigeria respectively

18. Achievements (Component 1)
Training of trainers session

19. Achievements (Component 1)
• Positive selection carried out on selected
fields and selected plants have been harvested
in both countries
• Back-up seed for 2016 experiment on positive
selection produced on (0.7 ha and 1.0 ha by
NRCRI and IITA, respectively)
• AYMT demonstration plots established in each
selected community in both countries

20. Achievements (Component 2)
• Two Post-graduate students (Esther Marfo) and
(Bolaji Osundunji) enrolled in universities in
Ghana and Nigeria respectively to study seed yam
degeneration.
• Experiments on seed degeneration studies
established in both countries
• Assessment of pests and diseases on farmers
fields completed in both countries
• Production of clean seed for use in degeneration
studies on course

21. Achievements (Component 3)
• Gender sensitization workshops organized for
project team members in both countries
• Seven females and fourteen males
participated in Ghana whilst 4 females and
fourteen males were recorded in Nigeria
• Gender awareness created amongst
communities leaders and farmers in both
countries

22. Achievements (Component 3)
• A total of 1, 273 comprising 558 and 715
participants were sensitized in Ghana and
Nigeria respectively

23. Achievements (Component 3)
Sensitization of Kilankwa community Sensitization of Bisiw community

24. Achievements (Component 4)
• Training of enumerators on data collection
carried out.
• Baseline data was collected from the selected
communities in both countries.
• Monitoring teams visited some sites in both
countries to assess progress of activities
• The SPO’s monitoring tour of projects in both
countries motivated partners on the project

25. Achievements (Component 4)
The SPO interacting with Farmers, CAY-SEED and YIIFSWA team members during his
monitoring tour

26. Achievements (Component 5)
• Successfully launched the CAY-SEED project
with the involvement of all partners
• Equitable distribution of funds to project
partners
• Submission of annual technical and financial
reports to the Foundation

27. Achievements (Component 5)
• MEL plan workshop organized by management
and facilitated by i-TEC
• Establishment of functional collaboration with
YIIFSWA project
• Successful holding of bi-monthly check-in calls
instituted by the Foundation to keep
implementation plans on track

28. Achievements (Component 5)
• Timely processing of travelling and transport
allowances to project staff facilitate project
activities delivery
• Purchase and distribution of project
paraphernalia to members in both countries
as a motivation factor

29. Financial administration
• Total project budget estimated at $4,500,000
• BMGF graciously supported with $4,000,000
• CSIR in kind contribution stands at $500,000
• Releases from BMGF to the project equals
$2,929,267
• Expenditure as at 31/12/15 stands at
$2,037,790

30. Acknowledgements
• BMGF
• IITA (YIIFSWA)
• ISSER
• NRCRI
• MSHR
• CRS
• CRI
• i-TEC

31. Thank you