About 68 percent of global yam output comes from Nigeria but declining production in some areas has stakeholders scrambling for a fix.

A calorie-rich source of protein throughout West Africa, yams are used for cultural events including marriages and festivals.

They play a key role in the country but production is declining in some traditional producing areas due to worsening soil infertility, growing pest pressures and high cost of labor, according to a report in AfricaScienceNews.

Stakeholders met this month at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture to work on a strategy for yam that will fully exploit it for economic growth and food security. The goal is to put yams back on the country’s agenda as the oil-rich nation tries to transform its agricultural sector, the report said.

Ghana has already developed its own yam strategy, paving the way for increased export and other industrial uses for the crop, the AfricaScienceNews report said.

The yam strategy meeting preceded the sixth annual Africa Agriculture Science Week organized by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa in Ghana.