Partnership with AWARD

AWARD-Agropolis Fondation Fellow Bolanle Otegbayo with her French
research supervisor in Montpellier
Dr. Olivier Gibert. Photo: K. Homer

Yams are more than a mere tuber to Nigerians, says Otegbayo. "Yams are intimately linked to our economic, social, and cultural life. For instance, a man must give yams as part of a bride's dowry. And no ceremony is complete without a dish of pounded yams. Every farmer grows them," explains Otegbayo, a lecturer at Bowen University in Nigeria, who recently completed a three-month research attachment with QualiSud.

Yam is the second most important root/tuber crop in Africa with production reaching just under one third the level of cassava. More than 95 per cent (2.8 million ha) of the current global area under yam cultivation is in sub-Saharan Africa, where mean gross yields are 10 tons/hectare. Yams are consumed by 60 million people daily in Africa alone, but production of this traditional crop is threatened.

"Farmers are investing their small capital, but they aren't making a profit because they can't get their produce to market before its spoils," said Otegbayo. "They can lose up to 30 or even 40 per cent of their yam crops annually because they lack storage. We could be commercially producing and processing yams for export, but so little of that is happening."

Otegbayo wants to break that unprofitable cycle by developing new yam products. "My current research is focused on determining the food quality and industrial potential of Nigerian yams that will contribute to expansion and diversification of their use," she explains. "I'm looking at how to make yam starch that could be used as a commercial thickener. I want to determine the molecular composition of yam starches and understand their functional properties. I believe this will have a lasting impact on the nutritional and food security status in my country," adds Otegbayo.

In her university lab in Nigeria, Otegbayo lacked the equipment needed to investigate yam starches properly. She hoped to obtain a research grant to purchase equipment, but winning such funding is rare in developing countries.

In 2009, Otegbayo applied for a fellowship from African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD). She successfully competed with 785 fellow researchers from 10 African countries for one of 60 coveted places. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, AWARD is a professional development program that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security. Launched in 2008, AWARD now has 250 African women scientists who have benefited from its program.

Working in partnership with AWARD, Agropolis Fondation is providing research attachments for AWARD Fellows. Otegbayo is the first AWARD-Agropolis Fondation Fellow-and the first Nigerian-in the program. She worked at the QualiSud Joint Research Unit from May to July 2011, under the supervision of Dr. Olivier Gibert of CIRAD's Food Technology Department.

"Working in Montpellier has been a tremendous opportunity to improve my technical skills," said Otegbayo. "I've learned so much that I will apply in my lab at home-from lab procedures to using technical equipment. The scientists here have been so open and supportive," said Otegbayo, who spoke little French when she arrived, but soon mastered the basics. "Bolanle contributed greatly to QualiSud as one of the world's leading scientists in yam and cassava research," said Gibert. "She shared her networks and linked us to food researchers across Africa. We have profited from her presence."

Otegbayo's fruitful experience in Montpellier has prompted Agropolis Fondation to host four AWARD Fellows for research attachments in 2012.

Article contributed by Karen Homer, AWARD Communications Manager.

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