Yam in West Africa : food, money, and more

187 Pages·2016·2.625 MB·English

by  Felix I. Nweke

YAM
in WEST AFRICA

YAM
in WEST AFRICA
Food, Money, and More
Felix I. Nweke
Michigan State University Press | East Lansing
Copyright © 2016 by Michigan State University
i The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
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Michigan State University Press
East Lansing, Michigan 48823-5245
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015939353
ISBN: 978-1-61186-187-7 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-1-60917-474-3 (ebook: PDF)
Book design by Charlie Sharp, Sharp Des!gns
Cover design by Shaun Allshouse, www.shaunallshouse.com
Cover image of yam mound making, Abakaliki, Eastern Nigeria is used courtesy of Louise Fresco.
Cover image of ware yam market scene, Kintamkpo, Ghana is used courtesy of Felix I. Nweke.
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Michigan State University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative and is committed to developing
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To
Carl K. Eicher
With gratitude for over fijifty years of tutelage.
To
My grandchildren:
Obidike Obanu Ofoedu Nweke-Onwezi,
Daluchi Somgolie Onyeyili Nweke,
Izundu Chikelu Omeocha Nweke
(April 28, 2011 to January 15, 2013),
and
Chidera Akunna Ndiatu Nweke
For the lesson that life and death are two sides of existence;
to have one is to have the other.
“You come from a family of yam farmers; they are the salt
of the earth to you. They represent the heart of Nigeria.
You joined the army [of researchers] to protect them.”
—Nnedi Okorafor, Lagoon
CONTENTS
Contents
ix Foreword by Werner Kiene
xi Preface
xvii Introduction
1 Chapter 1. Yam Primer
9 Chapter 2. Yam Production Contexts in Nigeria and Ghana
19 Chapter 3. High Labor Cost in Yam Production
29 Chapter 4. Yam Seed Technologies
37 Chapter 5. The Challenge of Nematodes in the Yam Food Sector
45 Chapter 6. Yam Crop Improvement Research
53 Chapter 7. Prospects and Impediments to Difffusion of Hybrid Yams
in Nigeria
61 Chapter 8. Periphery Situation of Yam in National Food Policy Programs
71 Chapter 9. Yam Stereotype as a Man’s Crop
79 Chapter 10. Yam Postharvest Matters
89 Chapter 11. Trade in West African Yam
97 Chapter 12. Fuels of Yam Consumption in West Africa
107 Chapter 13. Yam in the Igbo Cultural Rite of Marriage
115 Chapter 14. Synthesis
123 Appendix 1. Participants in Activities that Contributed Information
Reported in this Book
126 Appendix 2. List of Hybrid Yams Released to Farmers in Nigeria
133 Notes
139 References
151 Index

Foreword
Werner Kiene
N
o matter whether one is a development practitioner, a researcher, or a
student, one cannot help but be amazed by yam—the most African of
African crops. This book admirably succeeds in weaving a broad canvas
of information about yam’s signifijicance in West Africa and by the same token for
Africa’s food security as a whole. The book deals with the unique aspects of yam
as it is grown, marketed, and consumed. On top of this, the book demonstrates in
a fascinating way how culture is intimately related to what people eat and what
foods they produce.
Yam in West Africa is a timely and important book for Africa’s “yam belt,” a
region stretching from the coastal countries of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin
Republic, and Nigeria to Cameroon and parts of the sub-Sahel countries including
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad. The book’s central thesis is that West African
consumers would love to eat more yam if it would reach the market at more
afffordable prices and producers would grow more yam if the crop could be produced
profijitably at lower costs.
Yam is indeed the soul of West African cuisine. The book provides a vivid
account of the importance that culture and tradition play in the production and
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