The Curious Case Of The Benue Yam

"Madam how much be dis yam?"

As cars passed speedily, blowing polythene bags all over the food stock and her face, I asked the trader along the Gwagwalada-Abuja way. The yams were massive, I mean big. The first option any kitchen friendly person (Man or woman) would go for. One of these yams would feed a family of 8, trust me, ok let's say a modestly eating family of 4. Especially the Benue and Ekiti people who have pounded yam as a stable meal, eaten almost on a daily basis. The typical tiv man considers only pounded yam as food, well many of them. They will tell you rice is food for the birds.




"Na which one you want? Gwari yam or Bendel? She asked me calmly and i got curious and asked the difference.

'Bendel yam better to eat for this new yam season, but Gwari yam e better to pound' . Interesting I thought. 'So how about Benue yam? You no get am?'

Aaah my sister, dat one na im beta to chop now but e no dey so na de Bendel own we de chop for now.

This obviously meant the Benue yam was clearly in a class of it's own. Looking at them, the Bendel yams were not as big as the Gwari yam, but except you were told the benefits, the first thing you would always look out for, is quantity over quality.

 Let's talk about the Benue yam.

The typical Tiv  grown yams used be Gbangu, Iche iyol, Alakpa, Kyor iyol to mention a few. These yams had their different uses, best times to eat, best ways to eat them and of course.best ways to preserve each one. As time  went on, different species of yams were better grown on Benue soil. So yam seedlings were gotten from neighbouring states like Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau and a few from the east. Then species like Mumuye, HembamKwase, Ogoja, Pepa, Amula, Daan'acha came into being. Most recently, there are interesting Tiv yams called Ogini, punch,  and Fa ke tsa.

While Benue, the food basket of the nation is known to have good varities of yam, care must be given to their uses.

A few people who have prior knowledge of the yams need not be told. Since my Gwagwalada experience, I decided to make available, Benue yams in Abuja. I took a trip to 'Afo'-The Zaki-Biam yam market in Benue. This market is believed to be the largest in Africa and while this is debatable, at least five hundred thousand yams are sold on a daily basis. Apart from the many tax levies on the yam traders, a few more revelations popped up. And I began to understand why Benue yams were now found in other states and markets, and maybe I should other countries.  While Alakpa remains almost impossible to find in Tiv land, Gbangu is also sadly going extinct. Among heaps of hundreds of thousand varities, it was difficult to find a batch of 100 gbangu yams. And where this was found, the prices were different.

The demand clearly out weighs the supply but buyers need to realise that the much talked about Gbangu is not usually as massive as your average Gwari yam. As a matter of fact, the sure way of identifying this specie is that, they are usually stout, rotund, rough with a few hairs on them, not as much as the Iche iyol though.
This yam is eaten all round the season and best for Frying, boiling, grilling or roasted.

 Next time you want to enjoy the best of yams from Benue, realise that it is quality over quantity. There are big gbangu yams but are typically not your massive Gwari looking yams.

What more? You now have your Benue yams live in Abuja, courtesy of your's truly. Leave a comment if you are interested and we will discuss convenient details.