Temitope Ande, President SHE Farmers Initiative, has said that ginger farmers in Kaduna State suffered a devastating loss running into N10 billion last year as a result of fungi infection.
Expressing concern over the situation on Channels TV on Tuesday, Ande highlighted the need for a more comprehensive approach to agricultural interventions in the country.
She emphasized the importance of involving all stakeholders, including the federal and state governments, local communities, and research institutions, to effectively address challenges faced by farmers.
She said, “I think we can’t take out the central. They are providing intervention. What is important is they have to make it community based. They have to involve the state because the state and the local community. They need to wake up and engage the local government to be active in agric intervention.
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“I will give you an instance, look at what happened in Kaduna State. Last year Kaduna ginger production was infected by fungi that devastated their production. They lost over N10 billion in ginger production last year. That has affected the farmers.
“So they need to involve all stakeholders. Nigeria has over 40 agric agencies. Those agencies and research institutes need to be funded to be able to provide the necessary interventions for even these commodities at that commercial production level.
“Government needs to engage all relevant stakeholders in each state. They know the people that are cultivating in these communities. Kaduna South people lost so much last year.”
The initiative advocated for replicating successful government interventions, such as the dry season wheat farming programme, in other regions like Kaduna South.
Ande specifically suggested exploring the potential of dry season ginger farming, highlighting its viability as a foreign exchange earner for Nigeria.
“I will give you an instance. Last year exportation of the container of ginger was about N20 million. This season is going to cost about N35 million,” she added.
