A Transdisciplinary Approach for the Development of Sustainable Yam (Dioscorea sp.) Production in West Africa

Abstract

Yam (Dioscorea sp.) is an understudied tuber crop despite its importance for food security, income generation, culture, and health in West Africa. Traditional yam cropping practices in West Africa deliver low yields and lead to environmental degradation. In the context of a ‘research for development’ project, we developed and implemented a participatory and transdisciplinary research approach as a means to derive more sustainable yam production practices. We identified and studied different soil and plant management technologies adapted to varying biophysical and socio-economic contexts. For this purpose, we established innovation platforms (IPs) in four yam growing regions of West Africa, to validate the new technologies and to promote their adoption. These co-developed technologies were set up and tested first in researcher-managed plots before doing the same in farmer-managed plots. The new technologies resulted in a significant increase in yam productivity compared to conventional practices. The results discussed in the IPs gained interest from regional stakeholders and were shared through the media at local and national levels. Overall, this development-focused research approach showcases the relevance of purposeful stakeholder involvement to improve agricultural research outcomes.

Evaluation of Image-Based Phenotyping Methods for Measuring Water Yam (<em>Dioscorea alata</em> L.) Growth and Nitrogen Nutritional Status under Greenhouse and Field Conditions

“…These setts were dipped in a suspension containing wood ash (15 g L -1 ) and the fungicide mancozeb (12 g L -1 ) for 10 minutes and dried for 24 hours in the shade. Wood ash is considered by local farmers to be an effective insecticide/nematicide [6].…”

“…Indeed, given the high diversity of yam cropping systems [1] there is no one suits all solution [4,6].…”

“…Appropriate site-specific innovations need to be designed, tested, and validated with local stakeholders [6]. If this is done, there is a chance that farmers will adopt innovations and sustainably improve yam productivity in their fields [4].…”

“…Yams are traditionally planted by small holders in slash and burn systems following either long or short-term fallows without any external inputs, with low quality planting material and at low planting density. Low soil fertility, bad planting material, high pest, and disease pressure, and decreasing and erratic rainfall distribution are major yield limiting factors [1,4,6]. As population is still growing at a fast pace in West Africa, yam tuber demand will probably further increase.…”

“…As population is still growing at a fast pace in West Africa, yam tuber demand will probably further increase. Therefore, it is urgent to develop cropping practices to sustainably increase the productivity of this under-researched crop [6].…”