The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA) project, are collaborating to address challenges which impact yam production in the sub-region; and to help improve incomes and livelihoods of value chain actors.
The West African sub-region tops the global yam production chart with Nigeria as the leading producer and Ghana identified as the major exporter of the staple to the world. The initial stages of the YIIFSWA project have seen major breakthroughs in developing seed yam varieties and production technologies including tissue culture, minisett technology, vine technology, aeroponic and hydroponics systems.
The YIISFWA project which is currently running in Ghana and Nigeria, is coordinated by the IITA and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The collaborative discussions were held on how to bring the project’s outputs to scale for improved livelihoods along the yam value chain. Among other things, possible entry points for the collaboration between FARA and the YIISFWA project have been discussed. The parties agreed to adopt the FARA Innovation to Impact Framework to scale-out project outcomes. These include FARA’s expertise in Innovation Platforms and Capacity Development, Policy and Knowledge Management.
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