New yam planting method expected to boost yield

CORAL SPRING, Trelawny — Jamaican researchers now exploring the production of yams using leaf nodes say the technique yields about 10 times more than the traditional approach of using tubers, and Agriculture Minister Floyd Green is hoping local farmers will embrace the change.

“This could be completely game changing, it would increase our productivity tremendously, and that means greater returns on investment for our farmers. It’s not just about production, it’s about productivity. How can we produce more from the same acreages,” the minister told the Jamaica Observer Monday on the side lines of Caribbean Week of Agriculture.

Yam is Jamaica’s most popular tuber and is recognised worldwide, but Green believes the industry can achieve even more.