Chairman, Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme, Prof. Simon Irtwange, says four companies have commenced the production of improved yam seedlings to boost local yam production and drive exports. Irtwange said that the production of the yam seedlings was being supported by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), under a programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
He said that the committee had gone into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the companies to sell the yam seedlings to farmers at the rate of N400 per kilogramme.
Irtwange, who is also the Acting President, Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association, said that the move would encourage farmers to produce more yam for local consumption and export.
He said that the companies were located in Abuja, Kaduna, Lagos and a town in the South East geopolitical zone.
“IITA is supporting the four seed companies that are going into yam seeds production and they are going to sell these seeds to us.
“Now, we have agreed to fix the rate at N400 per kilogramme of yam seeds; so, people are not going to invest in yam seeds if it is just for domestic production and consumption.
“Farmers will buy the yam seeds, knowing that the seedlings will give them good quality yams which can be exported.
“The companies are locally based and they are registered by the National Agricultural Seeds Council. They are also supported by IITA, under a scheme of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to produce quality yam seedlings for the country’s yam farmers,’’ he said.
Irtwange said that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had dedicated the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal as an agricultural produce export hub for the country, where all agricultural exports would be carried out.
