Yam {Dioscorea spp.} is an important food crop especially in the yam zone of West Africa. Although more than six hundred species of the tuber exist, only a few are important as staple food in the tropics. These include white yam (D. rotundata), yellow yam (D. Cayenensis), water yam (D. alata), trifoliate yam (D. dumetorum), aerial yam (D. bulbifera) and Chinese yam (D. esculenta).
West Africa accounts for 90-95% of world yam production with Nigeria the largest single producer. In 2004, global yam production was about 47 million metric tons (MT) with 96% of this coming from Africa.
Nigeria alone accounts for about 70 percent of world production .It is the second most important root/tuber crop in Africa with production reaching just under one third the level of cassava.
Yam is produced in all the states of the federation though the product is produced more in Benue, Oyo and Nassarawa.
Some of the other yam producing states in Nigeria includes Sokoto, Abia, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Niger, Taraba, Osun and Plateau.
Mature yams are harvested at the end of the rainy season or early part of the dry season, which coincides with the end of vegetative growth. Yams for long-term storage (for marketing or seed) are usually harvested during the harmattan period (Dec-Jan) in many parts of southeastern Nigeria when the crops have attained maximum growth and maturity.
Apart from serving as food, it has a lot of industrial uses. It is used in production of all-purpose-adhesives. The adhesives are used by producers of cartons, packaging companies and lather and shoe producers. The all-purpose adhesives is produced with yam or cassava starch.
Some industries particularly in Europe use yam flour in preparation of high quality biscuits, bread, cakes to mention but few. In Nigeria also, it is used in production of high quality bread and cakes.
The yam chips and pellets can also play the same function as cassava chips & pellets in production of livestock feeds. Yam Starch has a lot of industrial uses.
Nigeria is by far the world’s largest producer of yams, accounting for over 70–76 percent of the world production. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization report, in 1985, Nigeria produced 18.3 million tonnes of yam from 1.5 million hectares, representing 73.8 percent of total yam production in Africa. According to 2008 figures, yam production in Nigeria has nearly doubled since 1985, with Nigeria producing 35.017 million metric tonnes with value equivalent of US$5.654 billion.
Though there is not data on the demand for the commodity, the average consumption rate of yam and it bye-products in Nigeria is estimated at 0.5 – 1.0 kg daily. The demand for the commodity is expected to fuelled by the over 17 million Nigerians living outside the country.
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