… to lunch N1.6B recovery package for affected farmers
By Stella Odueme
As parts of efforts to tackle the ravaging fungi Blight ginger disease affecting ginger production in parts of the country, the Federal Government has inaugurated a multifaceted National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce even as it said that the taskforce
through the National Agriculture Development Fund (NADFund) is launching a
N1.6B recovery package for affected farmers.
Minister of State for Agriculture and food security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, while inaugurating the committee on Monday in Abuja, lamented that ginger farmers in Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja(FCT) have suffered tremendously from the ginger blight epidemic.
For instance, he disclosed that ginger farmers in Kaduna lost over #12b in 2023.
“The official launch today will be followed by a groundbreaking state level
ceremony on Wednesday 27th March, 2024 in Kaduna where the taskforce
through the National Agriculture Development Fund (NADFund) is launching a
N1.6B recovery package for affected farmers. “This swift action demonstrates
our commitment to addressing this issue with urgency.
“Our preliminary estimates
suggest affected farmers in Southern Kaduna lost over N12 billion,
highlighting the significant financial blow. Furthermore, considering that over
85 per cent of Nigeria’s ginger cultivation occurs in this region, we can safely assume
a substantial loss of cultivated land, potentially exceeding 70 per cent, ” he said.
He said aside financial support, the federal government is, also addressing the challenge through investment in research & development as well as strengthening agricultural extension services in the country.
The minister who charged the committee members to go work immediately to tackle the epidemic put the international market demand for Nigerian ginger at $6.29 billion by 2030 from $4.16billion in
2013.
“It is with this multi-pronged approach that we launch the Ginger Blight
Epidemic Committee Taskforce today. This taskforce will serve as the
cornerstone of our response going forward, bringing together the expertise of
researchers, extension agents, and most importantly, our dedicated farmers.
“Together, we will overcome this challenge and build a more resilient ginger industry,” the Minister assured.
He urged Nigerian farmers to desist from importation of seeds without going through the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service(NAQS), to forestall importation of crop diseases into the country, bemoaning that the epidemic has challenged NIgeria’s position as the second largest producer of ginger in the world.
Responding, the Chairman of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce, who is the Director, Federal Department of Agriculture,
Engr. Abubakar Garba Abdullahi, assured that the taskforce would resuscitate the ginger sub-sector as the epidemic has affected the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of Nigeria.
