The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has called for a demand-driven approach to yam seed production to improve farmers’ access to quality planting materials.
The approach, it said, would reduce seed wastage, strengthen Ghana’s seed industry and support the adoption of improved crop varieties to enhance agricultural productivity.
Dr James Legg, IITA Representative to Ghana, said this in a statement delivered on his behalf at a stakeholder engagement in Accra.
He said efficient seed systems were essential to accelerating the adoption of improved crop varieties and enhancing agricultural productivity across Africa.
Dr Legg said ‘Breeding for Tomorrow’, one of the flagship science programmes under One CGIAR’s 2025–2030 research portfolio, focuses on developing climateresilient, nutritious and marketpreferred crops, livestock and aquatic species within CGIAR, the world’s largest global agricultural innovation network.
He said the programme aimed to contribute to a 29 per cent reduction in chronic hunger while generating an estimated US$182 billion in economic surplus through agricultural innovation.
“Developing improved crop varieties alone is not enough. The real impact comes when farmers can access quality seed of those varieties at the right time, in the right quantities and at affordable prices,” he said.
Dr. Legg said one of the programme’s core components, Inclusive Delivery, was designed to strengthen seed systems by ensuring improved varieties reached farmers more quickly through collaboration among research institutions, seed companies, extension services and farming communities.
“The objective is to improve the speed, quality and volume with which seed of improved and registered varieties is delivered to farmers. We work closely with national research systems because developing improved varieties is a shared endeavour,” he said.
Dr Legg said strengthening seed systems required accurate information on farmers’ needs and stressed that seed production should respond to actual market demand rather than estimates based on assumptions.
“The better seed producers match their production to real demand, the better the outcomes. Overproduction leads to wastage and lost revenue, while underproduction means missed business opportunities and farmers being unable to access quality seed,” he stated.
Dr Legg said the long-term objective was to establish a network of profitable and sustainable seed enterprises capable of supplying hundreds of thousands of farmers with certified planting materials for improved crop varieties.
As part of the effort, Ghana is implementing a data-driven yam seed demand estimation exercise to improve production planning and seed distribution.
Dr Morufat Balogun, Tissue Culture Specialist for Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa, said the project sought to address persistent mismatches between seed production and farmers’ demand by identifying the varieties required, quantities needed, locations and timing of delivery.
She said a digital Seed Requirement Estimation Tool had been developed to improve the spatial and quantitative matching of seed supply with demand across major yam-growing areas.
The web-based platform maps seed producers, certified seed growers and farming communities, enabling researchers, policymakers and private seed companies to estimate national seed requirements and identify areas with the highest demand.
Dr Balogun said the project was collecting data on farmers’ seed replacement behaviour, adoption of newly released varieties and purchasing patterns to improve seed demand forecasting.
She said, unlike crops such as maize, many yam farmers recycled planting materials for several seasons, making it important to understand how frequently they replaced seed and the factors influencing their purchasing decisions.
The project recently conducted a field survey in the Bono East Region, which accounts for about 35 per cent of Ghana’s yam production.
The survey covered major yam-producing districts, including Techiman North, Techiman Municipality, Kintampo North, Kintampo South and Nkoranza, where researchers gathered information on preferred varieties, production practices and future seed requirements.
The initiative is expected to improve coordination among research institutions, seed producers and extension services to ensure that certified yam seed is produced in the required quantities and delivered to farmers where and when it is needed.
By Albert Oppong-Ansah, GNA