Global strategy for the conservation and use of yam genetic resources

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) are a staple food for millions of people in tropical countries. They also provide pharmacologically active compounds in traditional medicine and for the pharmaceutical industry. Yams are cultivated in about 50 tropical countries, not all of which provide their annual production statistics to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The overall objective of the proposed Global Strategy for the Conservation and Use of Yam is the effective, permanent conservation of the maximum edible Dioscorea spp. diversity, through a network of ex situ collections that actively contribute to and benefit from common standards and techniques and the effective exchange of both germplasm and information.