Abstract:
Yam is a major economic crop that plays a significant role in food security and poverty alleviation in
Ghana. Despite this role of yam in Ghana, farmers have incessant difficulty in accessing adequate
planting materials for cultivation. In order to understand this problem, this research was conducted
to determine the various factors that can influence the accessibility of yam planting materials to
farmers in the Techiman District of the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Quantitative and qualitative
research techniques including semi-structured interviews and observations were employed for this
study. The research identified six main factors as critical to accessing yam planting materials in the
study area. These included the cultivar of yam that farmers want to grow, access to capital to
purchase planting materials, and availability and cost of transportation to convey planting materials
to store at farmer homes. The others were pests and diseases infestation of planting materials in
storage, farmers’ membership in co-operatives that assist members with acquisition of credit and/or
planting materials, and the adoption of minisett and microsett techniques by farmers.
