Nepalese cocoyam facts for kids

Cocoyam is a tuberous root crop cultivated in many regions of South Asia. Cocoyams share many of the same nutritional and agricultural characteristics as potatoes and other root crops such as cassava and yams.

Industry status and opportunity

In 2013 root and tuber crops made up 21% of all cash crop production in Nepal. Great potential lies in the expansion and commercialization of the cocoyam industry, enabling this subsistence and cash crop to become a source of economic stability for many hillside farmers. Cocoyams have a tuberous root (corm), which is surrounded by potato-size tubers referred to as cormels. The cormels are consumed as food and the leaves and shoots eaten as a nutritious vegetable in many stews and ethnic dishes, while the corms are used for replanting and animal feed. Due to the crop’s versatility, investing in the production of cocoyams would not only provide Nepalese farmers with a source of income from selling the cormels for cocoyam chip production, but would provide sustenance for themselves as well as feed for their livestock. Cocoyams are capable of yielding 30 to 60 tonnes of cormels per hectare, while cassava yields 20 to 40 tonnes per hectare. The high levels of productivity of cocoyams show the potential of sustaining mass production of the crop. With the breeding and selection of high yields as well as the development of agro practices and technology to allow mass production, cocoyam agronomy has the potential of increasing even further.