Beyond the training room: IITA scientists take yam innovation to the farm

When Adeoluwa Modupe left an IITA yam farmers’ training earlier this year, she did more than take home new knowledge. She took it to the farm.

Today, about two acres of her 10-acre farm in Alaarin, Elekuru Farm Settlement, Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria, are devoted to yam cultivation, with Akuabata and white yam among the varieties she grows.

Inspired by the training and the planting materials she received through the farmers’ outreach program; she began applying improved yam production practices she learned from the training on her farm.

“I really appreciate IITA for giving us that training. It was that training that inspired me to do this farm work,” Adeoluwa said.

Adeoluwa is a former IITA staff member who worked with computers, helping to ensure that computer systems supported research and other activities at the Institute. From technology and research support to yam and vegetable farming, Adeoluwa has come full circle in her journey in agricultural development.

According to her, she returned to farming after retirement, seeing it as another meaningful way to stay engaged, remain productive, and contribute to agriculture. What began as a new chapter after retirement has given her an opportunity to apply her experience and passion in a different way—this time, directly in the field.

 

The training was part of a farmers’ outreach program implemented through the Radio IITA outreach initiative, in collaboration with the IITA Yam Breeding Program, to equip local farmers and community members with practical knowledge on improved yam seed production and modern planting techniques.

The outreach built on IITA–CGIAR’s effort to take improved yam production knowledge beyond research and training facilities and closer to the farmers who apply it.

But for Adeoluwa, the learning did not stop when the training ended. She wanted the IITA scientists to return to her farm, see how she had applied the lessons and correct any mistakes before they affected the crop.

“I want them to see how well I am doing and resolve problem before it is too late,” she said.

That request brought Dr. Olugboyega Pelemo, Field and Seed Systems Specialist under the IITA Yam Improvement Program to the farm for a follow-up visit.

 

When training meets the field

For Pelemo, the visit provided an opportunity to see how the recommendations introduced during training were being applied under real farming conditions.

IITA’s Yam Improvement Program conducts training for farmers, potential farmers and seed entrepreneurs, while also using selected farms for demonstrations and follow-up. Pelemo explained that what farmers learn during practical demonstrations can sometimes differ from what happens when they return to their own fields.

“Sometimes, the practical demonstrations or the trainings in the class can outrightly be different from what one obtains on the field,” he said.

On Adeoluwa’s farm, the scientists observed that she was combining manual and chemical weed management. Some plants showed signs of herbicide damage, although some were recovering.

The team also examined her mini sett planting arrangement. Some mini setts had been clustered together on the same heap, while the recommended approach is to provide adequate spacing. The scientists also advised that yam should preferably be planted on ridges and explained appropriate spacing where heaps are used.

 

 

For Adeoluwa, the corrections provided another opportunity to improve her practice before the crop progressed further.

“I have learnt another thing today. That what I have done, it wasn’t well done. And I have been corrected,” she said.

She was already looking ahead.

“The next time you come here, you will see the perfect job done the way I was taught.”

 

Taking research beyond the training room

For Pelemo, the importance of the visit goes beyond checking whether a farmer followed the prescribed guidelines. It demonstrates why continued engagement between scientists and farmers is important after training.

“It’s not sufficient for us to invite them to IITA to have a training with them. It’s also very important that we follow them to their farm to be sure they kept to the rules and the procedures they were offered during the training,” he said.

The farm visit also gives researchers an opportunity to see where farmers encounter difficulties, where recommendations may have been misunderstood and where additional guidance is needed.

In this way, knowledge does not move in only one direction. Farmers apply what they have learned, scientists observe what happens in the field, and both sides gain a better understanding of what is required to make improved practices work under real farming conditions.

 

From one farm to a wider network of women

Adeoluwa’s experience extends beyond her own farm. She belongs to a group known as Agro Women Farmers, whose members have also participated in IITA training and are applying some of the knowledge and planting materials on their farms.

For her, farming offers women an opportunity to strengthen household food production while creating opportunities for income.

“The women should please go to the farm to have more food on the table. If not for money, then for the family. It is nourishing, you know what you are eating, and you are eating well,” Adeoluwa said.

Adeoluwa’s farm illustrates an important stage in the journey from agricultural research to impact, what happens after the training ends.

Research and technology can provide farmers with new possibilities, but those possibilities must be translated into practice. Follow-up visits allow scientists to observe that process, correct mistakes, reinforce recommended practices and better understand the realities farmers face.

For IITA’s Yam Improvement Program and its outreach efforts, taking research beyond the training room and into farmers’ fields strengthens the connection between research, knowledge, practice, and the people expected to benefit from agricultural innovation. Through Radio IITA and IITA Communications, we help build this bridge between research and the uptake of innovations, while facilitating a two-way exchange of knowledge that supports learning, adaptation, and impact.

 

Contributed by Bamise Dada