Gene editing set to boost Africa’s pressured yam production
Assisted by a $3.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the YOAGE (Yam optimised architecture through gene editing) project aims to deliver novel genetic variation to yam that improves plant architecture.
The goal is to reduce labour and environmental impact associated with traditional plant staking while also enabling mechanised farming in Nigeria, where yam is an important staple food crop.
The 4-year scheme hopes to develop yam varieties with optimised growth characteristics, improving cultivation practices, and boosting productivity and profitability while collaborating with local farmers, agricultural experts, and policymakers.
An important staple crop
Yam is the second most important root and tuber crop in sub-Saharan Africa after cassava, with a production of about 75 million metric tons (FAO, 2021). It provides about 200 kilocalories daily to over 400 million people in the low-income and food-deficit countries of the tropics.
Africa produces over 97% of global yams, with Nigeria alone accounting for about 66% of the world’s total (FAO, 2021). In West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, yam is not only a staple crop but also plays a central role as a traditional flagship crop deeply intertwined with societal norms, fulfilling various social and religious functions.
What’s threatening yam production?
Despite this importance, yam cultivation faces challenges such as high costs of planting materials and labour, declining soil fertility, low-yielding varieties that require staking, and increased pest and disease pressures due to intensified farming.
While conventional breeding has improved yam varieties for pest resistance, adaptability, and quality, it has made limited progress in optimising plant architecture for mechanised farming.
The project will therefore employ Pairwise’s advanced gene editing tools to overcome these challenges.
“By developing improved bushy-types of yam varieties, we aim to reduce labour demands, enhance farming efficiency, and boost sustainability,” says principal investigator Leena Tripathi. “Ultimately, our goal is to elevate farmers’ livelihoods and strengthen food security.”
The project will develop these varieties by identifying the genes controlling plant growth, optimising gene editing to develop semi-dwarf varieties, and analysing the impacts of these changes on labour and gender dynamics.
By addressing the technical and environmental challenges of yam production, the project is expected to significantly improve productivity and farmers’ income, contributing to the global goal of sustainable agriculture and food security.
Improving nutritional deficits in Africa
According to Dr Nicolas Bate, senior programme officer at the Gates Foundation, the organisation sees gene editing as an opportunity to more rapidly advance important crops like yam, following a path established through a long history of crop breeding.
“Through gene editing, we can keep all the favorable characteristics of adapted crops, such as nutrition and climate resilience, while removing characteristics like vining in yams that limit a crop’s potential,” he says.
Pairwise’s director of trait strategy and testing, Dr Shai Lawit, adds that gene editing offers a ‘revolutionary’ approach to solving global challenges in agriculture. The YOAGE project therefore aims to demonstrate the importance of public-private partnerships in unlocking the benefits of gene editing in Nigeria and Africa at large.
“Through important public-private initiatives like this one, we are not only improving crop production,” he says. “We’re also empowering smallholder farmers, reducing environmental impacts, and advancing food security to narrow the global nutritional deficit, which is especially prevalent in developing countries.”
