FG moves to boost yam production, achieve food security
Omeiza Bilal
The Federal Government has unveiled a strategic initiative to significantly increase national yam production yield from 10 metric tonnes to 30 metric tonnes per hectare. The programme is part of the Renewed Hope Agenda’s broader agricultural transformation drive designed to address an over 50 million metric tonnes national supply deficit.
Speaking at the National Yam Advocacy Summit organized by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) and relevant stakeholders held in Abuja, recently , the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi stated that ministry under the Ramping Up Programme anchored on three strategic pillars: increasing the total land area under yam cultivation, increasing the current yield from 10 metric tonnes per hectare to 30 metric tonnes per hectare, and reducing post-harvest losses from 40 per cent to 25 per cent by the end of 2027.
The Minister explained that “The programme adopts global best practices, leveraging verified data, realistic projections, state-level comparative advantage, mechanization, cluster-based farming, post-harvest loss reduction, and market integration”.
He added that “a key innovation is the categorization of staple crops into tiers based on national spread, consumption patterns, and strategic importance. Yam is officially classified as a Tier-1 crop, with nationwide demand and consumption, confirming its status as a priority crop central to food security and economic growth”.
Sen Aliyu Abdullahi said that ‘’ By achieving these targets, we aim to close the national demand gap, enhance farmer incomes, and position Nigeria to capture a fair share of the global yam market with the current national productivity figure of 10 metric tonnes per hectare, Nigeria produces 67.2 million metric tonnes of yams annually, accounting for 67% per cent of global production’’.
The Minister pointed out that “This shortfall underscores both the untapped potential of the sector and the urgent need to modernize the yam value chain, increase productivity, and leverage Nigeria’s leadership to capture greater domestic and international market opportunities”.
He highlighted the importance of yams to Nigeria’s economy, “Yam occupies a unique place in Nigeria’s economy, culture, and food system. It is not merely a staple but a symbol of prosperity, rural enterprise, and national resilience. For millions of Nigerians, yams represent both food and wealth, sustenance and livelihood.
The Minister added that “The Ministry is committed to supporting the future scaling of these innovations through sustainable seed production, engagement with yam seed companies, adoption of high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties, extension services, farmer training, and facilitation of access to finance, mechanization, and structured aggregation.
He stated that “We also recognize the vast opportunities in yam processing, storage innovation, and export development. By reducing post-harvest losses, standardizing quality, and improving traceability, Nigeria can move from being the largest producer of yam to becoming a major exporter of value-added yam products”.
He, therefore, urged that the Summit must move beyond dialogue to coordinated action, noting that Government alone cannot transform the yam sector. “Success requires collaboration among MDAs, research institutions, private investors, state governments, development partners, farmer cooperatives, and youth agripreneurs”.
He stated that under the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, agricultural transformation has been elevated to a national priority under the Renewed Hope Agenda, recalling that in 2023, the President declared a State of Emergency on Food Security, a call for decisive, coordinated, and data-driven actions.
He revealed that ‘’the Ministry in collaboration with the Economic Management Team, initiated interventions to stabilize food supply, including boosting dry season production and structured grain releases. Recognizing that short-term stabilization must lead to long-term transformation, a high-level Technical Team was established in March 2025 to develop the comprehensive programme titled “Ramping Up Staple Crops Production for Renewed Hope Food Security.”
He commended IITA for its work on seed systems, “I therefore want to commend IITA for advancing Early Generation Seed production and improving propagation technologies, which have the potential to increase productivity by 70 to 140 per cent while providing planting materials with low disease risk.”
He also revealed that ‘’the old Root and Tuber Expansion Programme has now been transformed into the Root and Tuber Industry and Export Development Programme under the Federal Department of Agriculture, yams, along with the various root and tuber crops, are in the process of getting the desired policy attention and actions.”
He added, “This National Yam Advocacy Summit has reaffirmed our commitment to achieving sustainable food sovereignty based on the core food demands, types, and consumption patterns of Nigerians, and thus, together, we will build a yam sector that is productive, profitable, resilient, and globally competitive.”
In his remarks, the Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery and Scaling at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, Tahirou Abdoulaye, stated that “IITA is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security on several projects to share technical expertise. Specifically on yams, it is expected that FMAFS will utilise innovations from years of research on yam seed systems at IITA to improve the yam value chain for the benefit of all stakeholders, especially farmers,”
He added that ‘’The National Yam Advocacy Summit, organized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, is a good example that aims to utilise the seed system to promote development in the yam value chain’’
He further said that yam breeding has breed very good and valuable varieties that have been adopted across the West African countries, noting that the varieties cannot do it alone, rather we need an efficient seed system to ensure that we get these varieties in the hands of people who needs it the most.
During his goodwill message, the Director General, National Agricultural Seed Council, NASC, Hon. Fatuhu Mohammed commended the organizers for bringing out critical stakeholders to deliberate on a crop that is both cultural symbolic and economically strategic to Nigeria.
He said that Nigeria is the largest producer of yam globally and crop plays a vital role in food security, income generation amongst others.
“For us at NASC as you move into National Yam production expansion, quality assurance, regulatory, compliance remains central to ensure that improved yam economy translate into enhanced productivity, increased income and improved food and nutrition security,” she said.
