Yam (Dioscorea sp.) is an understudied tuber crop despite its importance for food security, income generation, culture, and health inWest Africa. Traditional yam cropping practices inWest Africa deliver low yields and lead to environmental degradation. In the context of a 'research for development' project, we developed and implemented a participatory and transdisciplinary research approach as a means to derive more sustainable yam production practices. We identified and studied different soil and plant management technologies adapted to varying biophysical and socio-economic contexts. For this purpose, we established innovation platforms (IPs) in four yam growing regions of West Africa, to validate the new technologies and to promote their adoption. These co-developed technologies were set up and tested first in researcher-managed plots before doing the same in farmer-managed plots. The new technologies resulted in a significant increase in yam productivity compared to conventional practices. The results discussed in the IPs gained interest from regional stakeholders and were shared through the media at local and national levels. Overall, this development-focused research approach showcases the relevance of purposeful stakeholder involvement to improve agricultural research outcomes. © 2020 by the authors.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3390/SU12104016Altmetric score:
Dimensions Citation Count:
Publication year
2020
Authors
Kiba, D.I.; Hgaza, V.K.; Aighewi, B.; Aké, S.; Barjolle, D.; Bernet, T.; Diby, L.N.; Ilboudo, L.J.; Nicolay, G.; Oka, E.; Ouattara, F.Y.; Pouya, N.; Six, J.; Frossard, E.
Language
English
Keywords
agricultural research, sustainable agriculture, farming systems, food security, innovation, interdisciplinary research, sustainable development
Geographic
Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso
