The yam marketing system in Cote d'Ivoire:: Present status and outlook

This study aims at updating the knowledge of the yam marketing system in Cote d'Ivoire. Based on data collected on a weekly basis and covering selling prices and quantities put on the market place in Abidjan, Bouake, and Korhogo, the analysis identified four major yam-growing areas with their characteristics in terms of volume and type of yam varieties produced as well as their specificities relative to the main stakeholders - producers, traders, and transporters - involved in the sector. Three distribution flows stood out: alongside the traditional and unidirectional North-South direction, yam trade is now also flowing southward from the North and East on the one hand, and northward from the Center on the other hand. The lack of clearly set basic pricing policy in a market-ruled economy is also discussed.