The Business Incubation Platform (BIP) of IITA has set a new record of 23 t/ha for yam production in Nigeria. This record, which was achieved through a controlled trial, has been set to guide farmers in achieving increased yields from their yam farms.
Yam is the common name for plant species of the genus Dioscorea and an annual root tuber-bearing plant with more than 600 species. Some of these species are water yam (Dioscorea alata), white yam (D. rotundata), yellow yam (D. cayennensis), lesser yam (D. esculenta) and three-leaf yam (D. dumetorum). Nigeria is the largest producer of yam in the world, followed by Ghana, Côte D’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, and Cameroon.