Ekiti State government said it attracted investments in the agriculture sector to the tune of US$300 million in the last three years of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The move, IITA stated, followed the global conference on yams held in Accra on October 3 and ongoing strategic development for the sector.
The national yam strategy puts yam in the spotlight as a key crop to help Ghana fight poverty, enhance food security, and improve the livelihoods and incomes of women and men engaged in the yam sector.
“The strategy envisions making Ghana the leading source of premium quality yam products with global penetration and contributing to an improved Ghanaian economy and livelihoods,” says the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan.
“One of the objectives of the strategy is to develop commercially-driven research and development as well as capacity building in yam value chain,” he also said at the inauguration of the strategy held in Accra.
The economic value of the yam industry in Ghana has grown quite rapidly in recent years, with its foreign exchange earnings shooting up to the third position among the non-traditional export commodities in the period 2010 to 2012 when demand for yam in both fresh and processed forms is increasing in new markets abroad and domestically.
The industry has tremendous opportunities as well as challenges and requires support policies, private sector investment, and to become organized as a wholesale value chain.
The Ghana yam strategy is a bottom-up policy process that started in 2012. It is a private sector-led road map championed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with the support of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection.
Chairman of the Ghana yam strategy committee, Mr Anthony Sikpa said: “Despite the contribution of yam, the crop has not been given the right attention. This is what this strategy aims to correct. With this strategy, not only will yam be given attention, but it will also provide opportunities for all stakeholders in the yam sector.”
IITA Director for Western Africa, Dr Robert Asiedu commended Ghana for taking the lead in developing a strategy for the tuber crop, adding, “we also encourage other countries to emulate Ghana, by developing similar strategies that give clear direction on how to make the crop work for the poor and improve their economies.”
Chairperson for the Turkish Ghanaian Business Council, Perlin Gunesoglu observed that the strategy provided a platform for transforming the yam sector into a vibrant industry beyond but not excluding food security.
“The work being done in Ghana for yam is very valuable and can serve as an example for other countries trying to develop their sector looking at commercial as well as social objectives,” she said.