TAAT e-catalog
for
private sector
https://e-catalogs.taat-africa.org/com/technologies/sah-semi-autotrophic-hydroponics-for-yam-multiplication
Multiplying Seeds, Securing Harvests, Ensuring Food Security!
SAH is a low-cost licensed technology designed for mass multiplication of yam through leaf nodal cuttings, which are grown in a sterile planting medium such as peat moss, decomposed sawdust, rice husk, or cocopeat. These cuttings are placed in transparent plastic containers under controlled conditions, where they develop roots, shoots, and eventually tubers.
This technology is pre-validated.
Construction or acquisition of the fixed assets
Labor cost in West Africa per year
Laboratory setup including shelving
Consumables (Substrates, plastic box, nutrients and non-consumables and maintenance)
Open source / open access
Insufficient supply for commercial production: Seed enterprises may struggle to produce enough yam planting materials to meet demand from farmers and commercial growers.
High input costs: Expensive seed yam increases establishment costs and can reduce the profitability of yam production.
Slow multiplication: Conventional propagation methods can constrain the volume of planting materials available for sale within a production cycle.
Limited production space: Traditional multiplication approaches may require substantial space to produce large quantities of planting materials.
Uncertain supply throughout the year: Seed businesses may find it difficult to maintain consistent availability of planting materials for customers.
Constraints on business expansion: Limited access to efficient multiplication methods can restrict seed producers’ ability to increase output and serve larger markets.
Higher production capacity: SAH enables seed enterprises to multiply yam planting materials from leaf nodal cuttings, potentially increasing the volume available for sale.
Efficient use of space: Shelves and controlled growing areas enable producers to multiply planting materials in compact facilities.
Improved production planning: The multiplication process provides seed businesses with a structured approach to estimating production volumes and planning successive multiplication cycles.
Potential cost advantages: High multiplication rates may help reduce the seed cost per planting material, depending on infrastructure, labour, consumables, and operating expenses.
More consistent supply: Controlled production conditions can support a more regular supply of planting materials when facilities and production inputs are properly managed.
Commercial seed-sector opportunities: The technology is adaptable to formal seed systems and commercial seed enterprises, creating opportunities for specialized yam seed multiplication and distribution.
Seed Multiplier
This technology provides a cost-effective solution for rapid yam multiplication, addressing issues of slow propagation and contamination in improved varieties. It’s easily applicable in scattered farming communities.
Your potential customers are seed distributors, government agencies, NGOs, and development projects.
Building strong partnerships with distributors is key to success.
For Users
This technology offers rapid access to high-quality yam planting materials, effectively addressing contamination and propagation issues in improved varieties.
Key partners are plantlet multipliers.
Estimate the profit by analyzing costs versus production yield for high-quality seeds.
The poor: Positive high
The high yield encourages farmers
Under 18: Positive medium
Youths are encouraged to embrace farming at a very tender age
Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable
It works in diverse agro-ecology
Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement
Its adapted to different climate change
Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity
It aids germplasm distribution thus enhances genetic biodiversity
Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health
It improve environmental health by absorbing carbon
Water use: A bit less water used
It does not require much water
Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.
Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.
The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.
Read more about scaling readiness ›
Uncontrolled environment: validated
Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider
| Maturity of the idea | Level of use | |||||||||
| 9 | ||||||||||
| 8 | ||||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
| Country | Testing ongoing | Tested | Adopted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benin | –No ongoing testing | Tested | Adopted |
| Côte d'Ivoire | –No ongoing testing | Tested | Adopted |
| Ghana | –No ongoing testing | Tested | Adopted |
| Nigeria | –No ongoing testing | Tested | Adopted |
This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.
| AEZ | Subtropic - warm | Subtropic - cool | Tropic - warm | Tropic - cool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arid | – | – | – | – |
| Semiarid | – | – | – | – |
| Subhumid | – | – | – | |
| Humid | – | – | – |
Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.
Supports smallholder farmers and seed multipliers by providing affordable planting materials, boosting incomes.
Enhances food security by increasing the availability of quality yam seeds, reducing production costs, and improving farmer yields.
Creates opportunities in seed production and distribution, promoting agribusiness.
Encourages efficient resource use and reduces reliance on traditional, less sustainable seed propagation methods.
Last updated on Oct 20, 2026
This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones.
SAH: Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponics for yam multiplication
https://e-catalogs.taat-africa.org/com/technologies/sah-semi-autotrophic-hydroponics-for-yam-multiplication
Last updated on 20 October 2026, printed on Oct 24, 2026
Enquiries e-catalogs@taat.africa
