Dynamics of Trifoliate Yam (Dioscorea dumentorum) Production in Enugu State, Nigeria

Trifoliate yam (Dioscorea dumentorum) is one of the under-utilized species of yam with little or no research and industrial application in spite of its enormous potentials. In view of the possibility of loosing the crop in the universe especially in the study area, if the current production and utillisation conditions are not reversed, the study was carried out to assess dynamics of trifoliate yam production in Enugu State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 108 trifoliate yam farmers that constituted sample for the study. Mean score, standard deviation, Pearson correlation and factor analysis were used in analysing the data. Results on dynamics of production show that mean size of land allocated to trifoliate yam production was relatively steady, mean cost of input and income were increasing while mean output was decreasing within the years under consideration (before 2001 to 2014). Years of experience in trifoliate yam production (0.254; p≤0.008), farm size (0.364; p≤0.000) and portion of farmland cultivated with trifoliate yam (50.421; p≤0.000) were determinants of trifoliate yam production. Serving as a staple food (M=2.29) and promotion of good health were perceived as importance of trifoliate yam while, technical/land, institutional/infrastructural and economic/physical problems were extracted as causes of decline in trifoliate yam production in the area. The study therefore recommends that favourable land ownership policy/law that will allow farmers to acquire land for agricultural purpose should be enacted and implemented by government while awareness campaign on the potentials of trifoliate yam should be carried out by extension agencies in order to boost the interest of the masses in production, consumption and industrial utilisation of the crop.