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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.

2

This technology is pre-validated.

9•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 7/9

2250 USD

Cost of producing 50,000 SAH seedling

33 %

Return on investment on seedling sales

60,000 USD

Construction or acquisition of the fixed assets

10,000—25,000 USD

Labor cost in West Africa per year

20,000 USD

Laboratory setup including shelving

15,000 USD

Consumables (Substrates, plastic box, nutrients and non-consumables and maintenance)

IP

Open source / open access

Problem

  • Seed Shortage: The limited supply of quality yam seed restricts production and food availability.
  • High Cost: Farmers spend up to 50% of total production costs on seed, making yam farming expensive.
  • Food Loss: Farmers use up to 33% of their previous harvest for replanting, reducing the amount available for consumption and sale.

Solution

  • Increased Seed Supply: SAH technology provides a reliable, cost-effective way to multiply yam planting materials.
  • Lower Production Costs: Reduces the cost of seed, making yam farming more affordable for farmers and agribusinesses.
  • Year-Round Availability: Ensures a consistent supply of high-quality seed for both small-scale farmers and commercial seed enterprises.

Key points to design your business plan

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.

  • Construct growth chambers or screen houses and procure shelves and growth media for propagation.
  • Obtain virus-free mother plants from improved yam varieties.
  • Market and deliver SAH plantlets through existing seed systems and suppliers.
  • Comply with national phytosanitary regulations and obtain a license to operate SAH activities.

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

Countries with a green colour
Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour
Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour
Tested
Countries with a blue colour
Testing ongoing
Egypt Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burundi Burkina Faso Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Côte d’Ivoire Eritrea Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Cameroon Kenya Libya Liberia Madagascar Mali Malawi Morocco Mauritania Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Zambia Senegal Sierra Leone Zimbabwe Somalia South Sudan Sudan South Africa Eswatini Tanzania Togo Tunisia Chad Uganda Western Sahara Central African Republic Lesotho
Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
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.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
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.

Sustainable Development Goal 1: no poverty
Goal 1: no poverty

Supports smallholder farmers and seed multipliers by providing affordable planting materials, boosting incomes.

Sustainable Development Goal 2: zero hunger
Goal 2: zero hunger

Enhances food security by increasing the availability of quality yam seeds, reducing production costs, and improving farmer yields.

Sustainable Development Goal 8: decent work and economic growth
Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Creates opportunities in seed production and distribution, promoting agribusiness.

Sustainable Development Goal 13: climate action
Goal 13: climate action

Encourages efficient resource use and reduces reliance on traditional, less sustainable seed propagation methods.

  1. Set Up a Growing Area: Install metal or plastic shelves in an indoor or screen-house facility.
  2. Prepare Planting Materials: Obtain vine cuttings from certified sources (e.g., botanical seeds, virus-free tissue culture plantlets, or SAH mother plants).
  3. Use a Sterile Growing Medium: Plant cuttings in peat moss, decomposed sawdust, or rice husk inside transparent plastic containers.
  4. Provide Adequate Lighting: Use LED tubes for consistent light exposure, especially in indoor setups.
  5. Water Twice a Week: Maintain minimal but sufficient watering until transplant or tuber maturation.
  6. Harvest & Scale Up: Harvest tubers and seedlings for direct planting or further multiplication.

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Last updated on 28 May 2025