BOA moves to revive ginger industry, targets 3m tonnes production

The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) has stepped up efforts to revive Nigeria’s ginger industry, projecting that production could reach three million tonnes within five years through expanded cultivation, improved planting materials and affordable financing for farmers.

The bank’s Managing Director, Ayodeji Sotinrin, disclosed this during a visit to ginger farms in Kachia Local Government Area, Kaduna State, where farmers are recording promising harvests under the revival programme.

Sotinrin said about 3,400 farmers had benefited from the intervention across 15 clusters, adding that the bank planned to expand cultivation to more communities and establish ginger nurseries in 16 states.

He said sustained implementation of the programme could restore production in major ginger-growing areas affected by ginger blight and strengthen Nigeria’s position in the ginger market.

He said achieving the three-million-tonne production target could generate about $3 billion in economic value and significantly improve farmers’ earnings.

“The people that you’ll call poor farmers or vulnerable farmers, they’re the ones that will be making N70 to N80 million per hectare, not me,” he said, highlighting the potential returns from ginger cultivation.

The intervention, which began last year, involves collaboration among the Federal Government, Kaduna State Government, agricultural institutions, local authorities, traditional leaders and farmer groups.

Sotinrin said the programme would use some of the harvested ginger for tissue culture to multiply planting materials and make them available to more farmers.

He explained that the process involved taking ginger rhizomes to specialised laboratories for multiplication before transferring the resulting plantlets to nurseries, where they would develop into seedlings for distribution.

He said the approach would increase the availability of planting materials and support the expansion of ginger farming beyond the current programme locations.

He added that BOA was providing agricultural financing at an interest rate of nine per cent in line with the Federal Government’s directive to improve access to affordable credit.

Sotinrin acknowledged the contributions of President Bola Tinubu, the Kaduna State Government, the Kachia local government chairman, traditional rulers, cluster leaders and BOA staff to the initiative. He also commended the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) for supporting efforts to restore production.

The Chairman of Kachia Local Government Area, Dr. Manzo Daniel Maigari, said ginger blight destroyed about 90 per cent of production in the area, leaving many farmers without their primary source of livelihood.

He said farmers received support, including alternative agricultural inputs, after the outbreak, but production had not yet returned to its previous level.

Maigari estimated the sector had recovered to about 30 per cent of its former capacity, and expressed optimism that sustained assistance could accelerate recovery within the next two years.

He also said the programme targeted at least 50 per cent female participation, although he did not provide the number of women enrolled.

Agrolog supports the programme, organising farmers into clusters and providing extension services to guide cultivation and monitor crop development.

Agrolog’s Operations Manager, Cham Yakubu, said the cluster system helped coordinate farmers and ensure they received support throughout the production process.

“Our role is to provide extension services and coordinate these farmers, which we did. We formed them into clusters,” Yakubu said.

He said more than 900 internally displaced farmers affected by insecurity were included in one cluster and were expected to begin harvesting within three weeks of the earlier assessment.

Yakubu said security concerns had limited physical visits to the cluster, but extension monitoring reports indicated that the crops were developing well.

Cluster heads Malachy Gadani of Gidan Tagwai Ginger Farmers and Caleb Dallah of Ibika Farmers Group commended BOA for supporting farmers affected by ginger blight.

One beneficiary, Blessing Ali, also thanked the bank, saying the intervention was helping ginger farmers in Kaduna State restore production.

The 15 participating clusters are Assako 1, Matankadi Farms, Utro Akyi Muli Cooperative, Mothercat, Mission Farmers, CM Cluster, Maigidas, Zisshya, Gidan Tagwai Ginger Farmers, Sakainu Farmers Cooperative, Kachia Urban, Maraba Farmer, Bazachat Farmers, Ibika Farmers Group and Jerry Farms.

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