The Farmers Home Foundation (FMF) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have provided training to farmers in Cross River State to enhance yam production in Nigeria.
The state coordinator of Farmers Home Foundation, Precious Okon Ndem told the Nigerian Tribune that farmers will receive training on high-quality yam tubers and effective agronomic practices to ensure they can plant and harvest quality yams.
In her remarks, Ndem praised the national president of FHF, Ambassador Chioma Onyedika for her advocacy project aimed at promoting food security by providing free training from professionals to farmers on effective yam farming techniques throughout the year.
Flagging off the activities for yam seed development, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Johnson Ebokpo highlighted that the government will not relent in its effort towards food security.
“We are not playing politics when it comes to agriculture because there is a lot of money in agriculture. This is the beginning of the season of sweetness that will outlive this administration. We would scale up this activity.
The training of trainers session on seed and food yam enterprise which was anchored by Dr Pelemo Olugboyega of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) focused on enhancing yam breeding for increased productivity and improved quality in Nigeria.
In his presentation, Olugboyega mentioned that IITA has introduced more than 10 varieties of crops in Nigeria across 14 states, including Benue, Cross River, Ekiti, FCT, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, and Taraba, with Sharp-sharp (2024) being the latest release.
Olugboyega stated that “100 percent water yam flour can be used to bake confectioneries like bread, cakes and cookies while only 20 percent of cassava can be used with 80 percent wheat.
“Yam cultivation consists series of interconnected processes influenced by seasonal changes, indigenous knowledge and religious practices. Each annual cycle of yam farming include land preparation, planting, weeding, staking, harvesting, storage and marketing, all of which carry significant financial and labour considerations.
“The yam is a cultural crop intimately connected to significant events such as marriages, chieftaincy ceremonies, conflict resolutions, peace agreements and religious offerings. Reflecting its economic importance, 31.8 percent of Nigeria’s population relies on yams for their food and income stability,” he said.
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