The workshop, organised by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) in collaboration with the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), introduced participants to a highly effective DNA fingerprinting technology for confirmation and identification of mixtures in yam varieties.

The yam variety identification technology, validated at the CSIR-SARI Biotechnology Laboratory, offers a more reliable and efficient method for identifying and fingerprinting yam varieties cultivated across the country.

The workshop brought together researchers, policymakers, agricultural extension officers, seed producers, and other key stakeholders to discuss the significance of the technology and its potential impact on yam production and quality control.

Dr Francis Kusi, Director of CSIR-SARI, speaking during the workshop, said the DNA fingerprinting technology was designed to provide an accurate and efficient method for confirming the purity of yam varieties.

He said farmers, seed producers, and consumers had long struggled to distinguish between yam varieties due to the similarity in characteristics such as leaves, vines, tubers, and aroma adding the new technology would help resolve those challenges, enhance variety identification, production efficiency, and trade within the yam value chain.
He said: "This technology is a remarkable and groundbreaking initiative that should be embraced by all stakeholders in the yam value chain to boost production and strengthen the agribusiness sector."

Dr Shinsuke Yamanaka, Director of the Tropical Agriculture Research Front and Project Leader, Tropical Crop Genetic Resources at JIRCAS, introduced the JIRCAS and its mission and highlighted the collaboration's broader goal of developing soil and cultivating management technologies to improve productivity and profitability in the JIRCAS on- going project collaborated with CSIR-SARI.

He emphasised the importance of developing sustainable crop and field management technologies in the project, especially for stabilising small-scale farming systems in the country.

Dr Emmanuel Chamba, a retired yam breeder at CSIR-SARI, emphasised the need to extend the technology to cover more crops to further enhance efficiency and profitability in the agricultural sector.
He proposed moving the technology beyond the laboratory by developing simple, field-ready test kits that all actors in the yam value chain could easily use.

The introduction of DNA fingerprinting technology marks a significant step towards transforming yam production, ensuring variety purity, and fostering sustainable agricultural practices in the country.