...World’s largest producer of crop
…Product exported to UK, US, UAE
Nigeria is a world beater in yam production. Yet, only little is known about the burgeoning industry.
In 2018, the nation churned out 67 percent of the global yam output, according to the Financial Derivatives Company.
Nigeria’s total yam output stood at 44 million metric tons that year, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FOA)’s data. By FOA’s estimate, which was also recapped by Africa Check, the size of the Nigerian yam industry stood at $30.8 billion in 2018. However, with currency devaluation, which has reduced Nigeria’s economy by a half or less, analysts estimate the yam industry size at $15 billion to $20 billion.
Yams are consumed as cooked starchy vegetables. According to Britannica, they can be fried or boiled and then mashed into a sticky paste or dough.
Read also: How to cultivate yam in your backyard
Zaki Ibiam yam market, biggest in the world
If you want to know the biggest yam market in the world, then visit Zaki Ibiam, a town in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
The farmers are not only the biggest producers of yams in the world, they also control the largest global yam market.
“Considered Nigeria’s and possibly Africa’s largest mono-product market, it has around 635 stalls. Inside and around them are heaps of yam tubers, grouped based on size and newness. All around are wheelbarrows, with yam being loaded onto them, and their carriers wheeling away hastily to any of the 200 waiting lorries, where another group, whose job it is to get them on the vehicles, take over,” a 2020 article found in World Records Union said of Zaki Ibiam’s yam market.
Yam export growth
Nigeria exports yam to all parts of the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Nigerian yams can be found in food stores and groceries across the world. They are sometimes processed, packaged before being exported.
Local firms exporting yams include: Fravelex Limited, Red Star Agro Trade, Reino Export, Frijay Consult, among others.
According to Volza’s Nigeria Export data, Africa’s most populous nation exported 197 shipments of yam from March 2023 to February 2024. Volza captures Nigeria’s exports to other markets.
“These exports were made by 70 Nigeria exporters to 77 buyers, marking a growth rate of 32 percent compared to the preceding twelve months.”
In February 2024 alone, Vilza said, three yam export shipments were made from Nigeria, marking a year-on-year growth of -70 percent compared to Feb 2023, and a -67 percent sequential growth from Jan 2024.
Farmers say Nigeria’s yam exports are even bigger, claiming that West African traders buy Nigeria’s yam and rebrand them.
“Traders from Ghana, Ivory Coast and other West African countries buy yams from Nigeria, re-package them and rebrand them as made-in-Ghana or made-in-Ivory Coast yams. This explains why so many people still think we do not export enough yams,” Friday Asemota, a Cross River-based yam farmer, said.
Read also: Reps recommend incentives, policy review to boost yam export
Challenges of yam production
However, there are challenges. Indira J. Ekanayake and Robert Asiedu in an article outlined some of the challenges of yam production as planting material, labour, weeding and staking.
“Weed management in yam fields is challenging due to its complexity in terms of weed species composition, density, and competitiveness. Weed competition during the first four months of yam growth may reduce yields by as much as 43%,” they said.
“Strategies should be developed to reduce labor requirements in yam cultivation,” they suggested.
Insecurity, major issue but abating
Insecurity in Benue has been a major challenge with Benue farmers as herders and terrorists sacked farmers in the state for more than seven years.
Rampaging herders killed several farmers across Ukum, Logo, Agatu, Gwer West, Kwande, Makurdi, Guma, Otukpo and Gwer East in Benue state between 2016 and 2022. They also attacked Bokkos, Mongo, Wase and Barkin Ladi in Plateau State, according to BusinessDay’s earlier report.
“Insecurity was a major issue for farmers here. Several farmers were sacked and many left their farms for safe places. Many even abandoned farming. However, they are gradually returning because there is some improvement in security,” a Benue-based farmer said.
Government neglect
Yam farmers say they are not getting sufficient support from the government.
Hassan Suleiman, national secretary of the Yam Farmers Association of Nigeria, said the federal government focuses on rice and wheat but has neglected other essential crops such as yams, cassava, beans, potatoes, and onions.
Suleiman emphasised that the government’s failure to engage with the right associations has hindered effective intervention.
Charles Nenger, a yam farmer and civil servant, said: “Internally displaced persons can’t access their lands to date. There are also issues with weather patterns. The rains came late in 2023 and abruptly stopped early in October, which disrupted yam production.”
Nenger noted the difficulty in accessing fertilizer for use in yam farms, noting that this resulted in poor harvest last year.
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