Project

options; soil-management; value-chain; innovation-platform; yam

Lead
L’igname est une culture essentielle pour la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique de l’Ouest. Le projet YAMSYS vise à développer des méthodes de gestion du sol qui vont permettre de stabiliser la culture de l’igname dans des rotations tout en augmentant les rendements et les revenus des acteurs le long de la chaine de valeur de l’igname. C’est un projet à la fois interdisciplinaire faisant intervenir des spécialistes du sol, de l’agronomie, de l’économie et de la sociologie et transdisciplinaire puisque les objectifs de la recherche seront fixés en collaboration avec les stakeholders. Ce projet est conduit en partenariat entre des universités et des institutions de recherche de Suisse, de Côte d’Ivoire, du Burkina Faso et du système international de recherche agronomique.
Lay summary
L’igname (Dioscorea sp) est une plante à tubercule essentielle pour la sécurité alimentaire des populations d’Afrique de l’Ouest. C’est aussi une source importante de revenu pour les producteurs, commerçants, et transformateurs. Traditionnellement l’igname est cultivée juste après une défriche de jachère de longue durée ou de végétation naturelle. Les rendements en tubercules restent cependant faibles et les effets négatifs sur l’environnement importants. Au vu de la pauvreté, de l’insécurité alimentaire, et de la dégradation de l’environnement qui règnent dans cette région, il est urgent de développer des mesures visant à améliorer la situation. Malheureusement très peu de recherches ont été conduites sur cette culture. YAMSYS vise à développer des méthodes de gestion du sol qui vont permettre de stabiliser la culture dans des rotations tout en augmentant les rendements et les revenus des acteurs le long de la chaine de valeur de l’igname. Pour atteindre ce but il faut conduire des études agronomiques testant l’effet de différentes pratiques de gestion du sol, et des études socio-économiques et institutionnelles pour comprendre les déterminants de l’utilisation des sols et le rôle de cette culture. L’aspect transdisciplinaire de la recherche est assuré par la mise en place de plateformes d’innovation qui vont impliquer les stakeholders et permettre de développer un dialogue, qui aboutira à la proposition et à la validation d’innovations qui pourront être mise en œuvre de façon durable et efficiente dans la région. Ce projet est conduit en partenariat entre des universités et des institutions de recherche de Suisse (ETH Zurich, FiBL), de Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS, Université Houphouët-Boigny), du Burkina Faso (INERA, Université de Bobo Dioulasso) et du CGIAR (ICRAF et IITA). La recherche sera conduite sur 2 sites en Côte d’Ivoire et 2 sites au Burkina Faso, représentatifs des conditions pédoclimatiques et socio-économiques de la ceinture de l’igname d’Afrique de l’Ouest.

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Last update: 30.10.2014

Active participation

Communication	Title	Media	Place	Year

Number	Title	Start	Funding scheme

Yam (Dioscorea sp) is an underutilised crop despite it feeds155 million persons in the tropics. More than 90% of the global yam production is in West Africa. The increase in yam production in West Africa over the last decades was mostly realised through increasing the area under cultivation, while tuber yield increased only slightly. Yam requires a very high soil fertility level; hence, it is traditionally grown as the first crop after clearing long-term fallow or primary vegetation, but unfortunately often without any external inputs. This practice has resulted in a significant encroachment in biodiversity rich landscapes and in negative nutrient budgets leading to soil degradation. Although low soil fertility is often mentioned by producers as one of the most important factors limiting yam yields, very little research has been done on this topic. YAMSYS is an inter- and trans-disciplinary project based on a partnership between institutions from Switzerland (ETH, FiBL), Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS, UFHB), Burkina Faso (INERA, UPB), two institutions of the CGIAR system (ICRAF, IITA), yam producers, and other key actors from relevant social systems. The objective of YAMSYS is to develop biophysically, institutionally and economically accepted soil management innovations for increased crop productivity, food security, profitability, and environmental sustainability of yam systems in selected agro-ecological zones of West Africa. YAMSYS will have 4 pilot sites representative of the biophysical conditions of the West African yam belt, going from the sub humid forest (South West of Côte d’Ivoire) to the Northern Guinean savannah (Centre South of Burkina Faso) and presenting distinct economic and institutional contexts. YAMSYS will deliver 4 outcomes. Outcome 1 will be a state-of-the-art characterisation of the 4 pilot sites. The biophysical baseline will be assessed by establishing one “sentinel site” per pilot site using the land health surveillance framework. Based on rapid rural appraisals the economic and institutional contexts of each pilot site will then be delineated. Finally, the existing yam systems and the yam value chain will be described. Outcome 2 will be improved soil management options for yam systems for each pilot site. These options will be defined in collaboration with farmers and other key actors and will be first tested in mother trials supervised by scientists (2/site). Farmers will then pick their favourite options and test them in baby trials (15/site). The effects of these options on plant performance and soil fertility will be assessed. A farm household optimisation model will be used to evaluate the impact of existing and improved soil management options on farm net income. As the allocation of income derived from yam might be submitted to strong social norms, we will develop different modelling scenarios to assess the effect of these norms on income distribution derived from improved yam production. The proposed soil innovations will be also carefully evaluated from a sociological point of view as many aspects (beliefs, desires, social pressure) that are difficult to capture may effect adoption. Finally, the best options will be demonstrated by champion farmers to others at each site. Outcome 3 will be the state-of-the-art facilitation of innovation and adoption patterns in yam systems. This outcome will be based largely on the activities of innovation platforms (IPs) at site and country levels including key actors involved in yam systems. The first output of this outcome will be at the beginning of the project: the definition of a joint vision for future yam systems at each site. Then, the IPs will analyse the stumbling blocks for sustainable soil management in yam systems. Finally, they will guide the development of a practical decision tool for site-specific soil management for yam systems in West Africa. The 4th Outcome will deal with communication, application of the results, and capacity building. The results will be communicated to the social systems relevant to the project. The on-going participatory process taking explicitly into account the economics and institutional contexts prevailing at each site will lead to knowledge development and adoption of best soil options. YAMSYS will involve two postdocs and train five PhD and 20 MSc from West Africa, develop an e-learning blended course on yams, organise one international conference and one PhD summer school on yam systems and yam value chain and also contribute to undergraduate education. Finally, together with our international partners we will construct a global network for underutilised root and tuber tropical crops. We assume that the approaches developed in YAMSYS will contribute in the future to a better use of these crops for improving food security and income generation of smallholders across the tropics.