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Farmers in Nigeria have been charged to key and participate actively in yam production value chain for export. The call was made by resource person, Mallam Obeito S. Hassan at a two day capacity building workshop for farmers in Kabba/Bunu Local Government organized by Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Lokoja smart office.
He told the participants that yam is grown in West African region where Nigeria is the largest producer in the world and accounted to 70% of the world’s yam demand annually with 72 million metric tonnes.
The paper presenter stated that yam production value chain for export according to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, accounted for $5.68 billion US dollar from landmass of 2,837,085 hectares.
Mallam Obeito Hassan maintained that due to value the Federal Government of Nigeria attached to Yam Production value chain made Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation engaged Sahel Capital to conduct a study on the landscape for yam value chain in Nigeria and Ghana in 2013 and in 2017 the Chinese government called for dry season all year round yam production.
He called on the Farmers to organize themselves into yam settlement clusters and establish yam market in the major producing states in southern and middle belt of Nigeria as done in Benue State where we have Zaki Biam Yam Market.
In the paper presentation, he said yam production value chain has endeared Nigeria to the world where Nigerian yams are processed into varieties of products like Yam flour, Pastries, Starch and Livestock feeds among others where there are yam farmers wealth generation and foreign earning for the country.
Mallam Obeito Hassan then reminded the government at all levels in Nigeria, Federal, State and Local to come to the aid of the Farmers and traders in agribusiness to participate fully in the yam value chain inspite inhibiting factors of high cost of yam processing equipment and power, cumbersome regulating requirements for certification and product registration as wells as lack of access to affordable financing and difficulties associated with building a distribution network.
He again appealed to the government and Agro entrepreneurs to set up yam based processing industries to expand and growth of yam value chain for export in Nigeria.
Earlier in welcome address, the NEPC Trade Promotion Adviser, Lokoja smart office, Mrs. Amina Abdulmalik represented by Mr. Iorwue La, said farmers are to be sensitized for good agricultural practices, post harvest handling, storage and packaging for export where the role of regulatory agency like Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Agency was needed.
She said this training workshop will expose the farmers to know the linkage in yam value chain for export.
In their good will messages, Kogi State Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. David Apeh, Special Assistant on Agriculture in Kabba/Bunu Local Government, Hon. Ogunsomi Mathew and Hon. Ahmed Umar Tijani of KEDA, all applauded NEPC for capacity building and appealed to participants to put to use the knowledge gained.
They maintained that the yam value chain should expand to boost Nigeria relations with exporting countries.
The Head of department, Agriculture, Kabba/Bunu Local Government, Comrade Musa Isah Adinoyi, praised the initiative of NEPC for partnering with farmers to know yam production value chain for export.
He advised farmers to adequately manage their post harvest for effective yam storage and transportation to avoid losses for expansion in yam production in future.
