CHALLENGES OF YAM PRODUCTION IN EDO STATE
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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Yams (Dioscorea species of the family Dioscoreaceae) are a significant crop for food, money, and cultural customs. West and Central Africa is the leading producing and consumption region for yams in the globe (Ayeni, Adetunji, & Oyeniyi, 2021). Yam is vital to the nutritional, social, cultural, and economic well-being of the inhabitants of the yam belt in Africa. Nutritionally, yam is an essential food source for millions of people throughout the world. It is consumed in several forms, including fufu, boiling, fried, and roasted (Aidoo, 2009). In metropolitan areas of Ghana, yam accounts for around 13 percent of family food budgets (Aidoo, Ohene-Yankyera, Marfo and Blaise, 2009). Yam is crucial to the local economy of West Africa and contributes for around 32 percent of farm revenue (Chukwu and Ikwelle, 2000). The crop is an important source of foreign exchange profits and a raw ingredient for the starch and pharmaceutical sectors (Amanze, Agbo, Eke-Okoro and Njoku, 2011). As the world's biggest exporter of yam, yam exports contribute significantly to Ghana's foreign exchange profits (Ohene-Yankyera, Aidoo and Ohenewa-Tawiah, 2011).
The whole value chain of yam cultivation, processing, and commercialization provides significant job prospects for millions of people (Babtunde 2022). The supply of yam provides opportunities for revenue generating owing to the quantity of individuals engaged and the monetary worth of the product. The marketing system, which impacts both the prices earned by farmers and those paid by consumers, has a significant impact on food security (FAO, 2003).
Yams are members of the genus Dioscorea and the Dioscoreaceae family. Yams are dioecious plants that produce economically significant tubers and bulbils (aerial tubers) (Cabanillus, &d Martin, 2021). The stems are viny, the leaves are cordate or ovate, and the tubers are typically cylindrical and rich in carbohydrates, making them excellent for consumption (Mandal,2003). When leafy branches fall back and tubers go dormant, tuber formation is an evolutionary response to a dry season (Purseglove,2002). During the development of edible Dioscoreas, the thickening and lobbing of the ancient rhizome were replaced by a highly developed tuber structure (Burkill,2000). They are replenished and produced annually by the majority of species, although others are permanent. As a crop, yams are harvested annually and replanted using tuber fragments to renew the plant. Unlike other tropical root and tuber crop species, yams may be kept in ambient tropical conditions for four to six months without considerable loss of nutritional value. Additionally, tubers are frequently dried and then crushed into flour for reconstitution as a stiff paste (fufu), which is highly valued in West Africa (Cabanillus, &d Martin, 2021).
The Dioscoreaceae family has six genera, but Dioscorea is the most important. Twelve of the approximately 600 recognized species of Dioscorea are edible (Coursey,2006). Within this genus, the following species are edible and commercially valuable: Dioscorea rotundata (white yam or Guinea yam), Dioscorea alata (greater yam or water yam), Dioscorea esculenta (lesser yam or Asiatic yam), Dioscorea bulbifera (aerial yam or potato yam), and Dioscorea cayenensis (y (Ayeni, Adetunji, & Oyeniyi, 2021).
Some Dioscorea species, such as floribunda and composite, are valued for their high tuber content of steroidal saponins, which are utilized in the production of oral contraceptives, sex hormones, and cortisone (Purseglove,2002; Applezweig, 2007). The drug yams are primarily an uncultivated species (Coursey,2006). The English word "yam" is most likely originated from the Portuguese word ynhame, which was discovered in early records. ynhame was the transliteration of the Malinke word niam, which was extensively spoken in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast (Coursey, 2006).
The term "yam" has several meanings for the majority of people. It is a crop of edible root tubers that generates cash to support the farmer's family and himself. It has helped enhance living standards throughout the years (Ayeni, Adetunji, & Oyeniyi, 2021). According to the Oxford lexicon, yam is a starch-rich tuberous root that has essentially replaced potato as a staple meal in many tropical and subtropical nations. Yam is a member of the known botanical genes, although there are several species of enormous importance in West Africa.
The white yam (Discoreal rotonlata)
The water yam (Discoreal alata)
The yellow yam (discoreal caganesis)
Lesser yam (D. bulbfery)
Trifoliate or three leave yam (D. dumetorum)
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