| ≥1 piece |
GFY Green Agric Ltd supplies|export excellent quality Yam to the world market. Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers. These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Oceania. There are many cultivars of yam. Although some varieties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) are also called yam in parts of the United States and Canada, sweet potato is not part of the family Dioscoreaceae but belongs in the unrelated morning glory family Convolvulaceae.
Yam, a tropical crop in the genus Dioscorea, has as many as 600 species out of which six are economically important staple species. These are: Dioscorea rotundata (white guinea yam), Dioscorea alata (yellow yam), Dioscorea bulbifera (aerial yam), Dioscorea esculant (Chinese yam) and Dioscorea dumetorum (trifoliate yam). Out of these, Dioscorea rotundata (white yam) and Dioscorea alata (water yam) are the most common species in Nigeria. Yams are grown in the coastal region in rain forests, wood savanna and southern savanna habitats.
Uses
Tuber is the main part of the yam plant which has high carbohydrate content (low in fat and protein) and provides a good source of energy. Unpeeled yam has vitamin C. Yam, sweet in flavour, is consumed as boiled yam (as cooked vegetable) or fufu or fried in oil and then consumed. It is often pounded into a thick paste after boiling and is consumed with soup. It is also processed into flour for use in the preparation of the paste. Its medicinal use as a heart stimulant is attributed to its chemical composition, which consists of alkaloids of saponin and sapogenin. Its use as an industrial starch has also been established as the quality of some of the species is able to provide as much starch as in cereals.