So many yams, no storage facility

That is why it is celebrated in an occasion called the “New Yam Festival” before commencement of eating and being sold at the market.In spite of the huge importance of yam, farmers all over the country have the problems of  excess yam supply in the market, cheap price of the product usually between October and […]

That is why it is celebrated in an occasion called the “New Yam Festival” before commencement of eating and being sold at the market.
In spite of the huge importance of yam, farmers all over the country have the problems of  excess yam supply in the market, cheap price of the product usually between October and January, and the challenges of storing the crop beyond six months so as to attract good prices that will make their efforts rewarding.
This reporter, who visited some agrarian communities in the suburb of Abuja, recounts the agonies of yam farmers in a season like this, when there is product glut, thereby lowering the profits that could make farmers smile home with fat pockets.
One of the communities known for the production of yam visited by this reporter is Ijakoro, a village near Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, but under the administration of Tafa local government area of Niger state. At their Saturday market, there was yam glut. The prices of yam in the market were quite cheap. 10 to 13 tubers were sold between N900 and N1,000 depending on the sizes of the tubers.
Abdullahi Audu Ijakoro is the chairman of the Yam Marketers’ Association Ijakoro. He told this reporter that one of the problems that contribute to the cheap nature of the product is the fact that the roads linking the village are not good, and as a result buyers will rather buy it cheaper as the cost of transporting it to Bwari, Kubwa, Wuse and Minna in Niger state is high.
Fielding questions on why farmers float the market with the product when they know excess supply will force the prices down, Ijakora said, “It is because the farmers have different problems that require money so they are forced to sell at a cheap rate.” Apart from this, he said, “you need to get seeds for planting. So if you don’t remove these ones now, it will not regenerate and you will not get the seeds that you will use in the planting season.”
He added that the yam removed now cannot be stored beyond three months as it will spoil. Since farmers need the seedlings for the next planting season, they have no option but to sell at whatever price offered them by buyers. “Once you remove yam from the farm before they are fully developed or matured, you cannot store them,” Audu said.
Ibrahim Dada said the major problems of yam farmers in the village are access road, fertiliser, and small loans for farmers. “We don’t make profit in the sale of our yams because we don’t have access roads. The yams that you will sell between N20, 000 and N30, 000 are sold N10, 000 because there is no access road for buyers to come in easily,” Dada told this reporter.
Other farmers who spoke to Daily Trust called on the government to assist them with fertiliser because according to them the soil is exhausted and needs fertiliser for optimum productivity. They said the reason why they are harvesting the yam this rainy season is because of the seeds, which they need in the planting season. If government makes seedlings available, this practice will stop and farmers will store their products and sell at better prices at the appropriate period.
Inusa Mohammed stressed that the reason why people are harvesting their yams is to enable them get the seeds, “that is why you can see yams everywhere here. It is also very cheap because you cannot store it now. Lack of access roads also complicates the matter because buyers don’t come. It is our women here and the Gwari women that buy them from us. We don’t make any profit but we have to sell to also solve our problems. If we don’t harvest now, we will not get the seeds in the dry season,” Mohammed said.
Alhaji Musa Danladi Ijakoro, a retired civil servant, said the yam produced in Ijakoro village is the best and most sought after in the FCT, but storage facilities have continued to affect them. He recounted how value was added to yams in those days, where spoiled yams were burned and the ashes used in the production of local soap called “Sabulun Solo.”  According to him, these days farmers don’t even know how to add value to the product thereby throwing away what is spoilt or unsold.
He called on government to build stores where farmers can store their products for a particular period. He lamented that farmers in the village did not get fertiliser because they do not understand the e-wallet system that allows farmers to access subsidised agro inputs through mobile phones. Even the local and state governments’ fertilizer programs did not reach them this year. They had to buy fertiliser at very high price from the market.
In Gwagwalada, Mohammed Abubakar who cultivated 50,000 seeds said the major problem of yam is storage. He said it is difficult to store yam beyond six months because the product will shrink or rotten, thereby diminishing the commercial value of the crop.  
Dr Eddy Nwaogu of the National Root Crop Research Institute Nyanya Substation, acknowledges that storage is generally a problem in root and tuber crops. That is the greatest problem yam farmers have for now, adding, “If we will be able to harness the entire root and tuber crops we have in this country, preserve them over time through value addition, year in and year out, this country will have enough food to put on the table of Nigerian families,” he said.
Nwaogu adviced farmers in the country to handle the harvesting of the crop carefully to avoid bruises: “When you are harvesting your yam, you should ensure as much as possible that you don’t inflict so much bruises on the tubers. This is one thing that most farmers do. When they are harvesting because of the cruel way they harvest, bruises are always encountered on the yam tubers and these bruises serve as entry points to some micro organisms that will cause deterioration on storage.”
He said farmers should also know that yam has high moisture content and does not tolerate heat. Farmers have to store their yam in a place that is relatively very cool and shielding so as to protect the tubers from direct effects of the sun, saying “We are still carrying out research; we are still on the drawing board to come up with research findings on how to prolong the shelve life of yam in storage,” he added.