Nigeria leads the world in yam, cassava, and sweet potato production

Nigeria accounts for over  70% of yams produced in the world and is also a leading producer of cassava and sweet potato. 

This was disclosed by the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) on Wednesday in Abuja 

Director/HOD, of Crop Research Operations Department Dr. Nnamdi Eke-Okoro, disclosed this in a workshop towards repositioning Yam as an Export Crop. 

Global producer: He noted that Nigeria is the leading producer of yam, cassava and sweet potato with 34, 59, and 30 metric tonnes, and urged the move into global standard, must come with collaboration between the ports authority and other stakeholders in the country. 

• “Development of improved varieties is over 50 for cassava, 30 for yam and 5 for sweet potato. Nigeria accounts for over  70% of yams produced in the world,” he said. 
• ” NRCRI can collaborate with other agencies to speedy up yam export chain and to reduce the level of rejections of our products abroad. 

Eke-Okoro said the importance of NRCRI in yam export chain could not be over-emphasized, citing the rising demand for yam products globally. 

They added the institute is  equipped with the latest state of the art for determination of food quality traits,, saying: 

• ” NRCRI has all it takes in terms of manpower, equipment, and technical know-how to be in the front line for yam export 
• ” Policies on yam export must not exclude the role of NRCRI, it has all it takes in terms of manpower, equipment, and technical know-how to be in the front line for yam export,” he said.