Cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta {taro} and Xanthosoma mafafa {tannia}) is a neglected staple carbohydrate–based food in Nigeria, despite its higher nutritional advantages over competitor roots and tubers. The National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Nigeria, launched cocoyam re-birth initiative (CRI) in 2007 to promote cocoyam research, production, marketing and consumption. Currently, about 34. 6 x 106 and 23. 4 x 106 million ha of the country’s arable land are moderately suitable and highly suitable, respectively, for sustainable cocoyam production. However, 28. 2 x 106 and 4.7 x 106 million ha are marginally suitable and unsuitable, respectively. A combination of land area under highly suitable and moderately suitable, showed that 65.1 and 34. 9 % of it represent where cocoyam is relatively unimportant and very important, respectively. Cocoyam is also relatively unimportant on marginally suitable land (32.7 %) out of total suitable land area. To promote cocoyam production in the country through CRI, application of cocoyam re-birth mission ad extra where the crop is relatively unimportant and cocoyam re-birth mission ad intra where it is very important is recommended.
Keywords: Cocoyam; Cocoyam re-birth mission ad extra; Cocoyam re-birth mission and intra; Land use; Nigeria.
