The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) through the Programme for Seed System Innovation for Vegetatively Propagated Crops in Africa (PROSSIVA) has trained Commercial Seed Entrepreneurs (CSEs) in yam seed production business.
The workshop, held in Ibadan on Monday, was aimed to equip the entrepreneurs with the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure profitable production and distribution of high-quality yam seeds within their regions.
The training combines agronomic best practices with business strategies to help participants to build a sustainable and successful yam seed enterprise.
PROSSIVA-Yam Component Lead, Prof. Morufat Balogun, while speaking at the event, said that seed entrepreneurs play a crucial role in seed system due to their ability to produce and sell to farmers located in remote areas, beyond the reach of private seed companies.
Balogun, however, decried lack of a fully functional formal seed system that ordinarily should support production and distribution of quality seeds, thus hindering farmers’ access to sufficient quality planting materials.
According to her, this hindered Nigeria from featuring significantly in yam export even though the country leads in yam production.
“The full potential of yam in filling the hunger gap and agribusiness development is yet untapped.
“PROSSIVA is working on Yam, Cassava, Sweet potato, banana and plantain in four African countries, the Yam component is implemented in six states of Nigeria and two regions of Ghana in collaboration with 13 public and private partners.
“Development research and awareness creation through value proposition trials and field days as well as capacity building are being used to engage willing potential seed entrepreneurs.
“This has birthed hydroponics-based seed production systems and use of leaf bud cuttings for generating disease-free yam planting materials as well as sprout control system, leading to a 100-fold increase in seed propagation rates, clearly higher than traditional planting materials,” Balogun said.
The plant geneticists urged government to motivate commercial seed entrepreneurs without resources with subsided access to farm inputs including initial planting materials, loans and irrigation supports.
Also, Director, IITA West Africa Hub, Prof. Michael Abberton, reiterated that Nigeria needs effective seed system and sustainable varieties driven by active involvement of commercial seed entrepreneurs to achieve sufficient yam production.
“It is also important to convince government that yam is a priority crop in Nigeria.
“Achieving this will attract more investments from donor organisations and companies into yam farming,” he said.
Earlier, the Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, reaffirmed the commitment of the Oyo government to support any initiative that would build capacity, create jobs and expand market opportunities for farmers and agripreneurs.
The commissioner, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the ministry, Dr Funmilola Ilori, promised to work with IITA, PROSSIVA and their partners to ensure that objectives of the workshop translate to concrete, scalable actions across the state.
In his remarks, the Oyo State Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr Abass Adewumi, said the workshop had exposed the participants to the best farm practices with modern business strategies to become a successful yam seed entrepreneurs.
NAN reports that the capacity building programme was in collaboration with Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Limited and other partners.
