The Federal Government is supporting ginger farmers in three states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with subsidies valued at N1.6 billion, according to Mohammed Abu Ibrahim, executive secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF).
The Ginger Recovery Advancement and Transformation for Economic Empowerment (GRATE) program is the umbrella organization for the input support package.
He made this revelation on Wednesday during the Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce Support Initiative launch in Kaduna, which was sponsored by the Vice President’s office.
He claims that the current outbreak of ginger blight in the nation affected 15,000 ginger farmers from the states of Kaduna, Plateau, and Nasarawa, including the Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, the incident occurred at a time when the nation’s export of ginger was starting to increase significantly.
According to Ibrahim, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that, in comparison to N4.6 billion during the same period in 2022, earnings from ginger export rose by 17% to reach N10 billion in Q2 of 2023.
He said that the task group was established in response to the epidemic issue.
“First, a N1.6 billion support package is being given by the Federal Government through the NADF. It begins with a 1 hectare input pack called the GRATE package, which stands for Ginger Recovery Advancement and Transformation for Economic Empowerment.
Although the current ginger blight epidemic is thought to have affected 15,000 farmers in Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa States, and the Federal Capital Territory, it coincided with a period when ginger exports from our nation had begun to significantly increase, the official stated.
According to his explanation, the farmers would receive a support package consisting of one 20kg bag of high-yield seed variety, four 50kg bags of NPK fertilizer, two 50kg bags of urea, and two 1kg bags of fungicide.
The remaining ones are 1 liter of insecticide, 2 liters of herbicide, and 1 liter of post-emergence herbicide per person.
According to him, the crew was excited to see ginger being grated in rural areas once more in the near future.
Marian Moon, the Technical Assistant on agricultural in the Vice President’s Office, stated in her speech that the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda included a serious consideration of agricultural and ginger cultivation by the presidency.
She said that because Nigerian ginger is among the greatest in the world, several nations, including Mexico, were attempting to cultivate it.
She also exhorted farmers to boost the nation’s production of ginger.
Governor of Kaduna State Uba Sani, accompanied by his deputy Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, praised the federal government for helping the state’s impacted farmers.
The governor urged the farmers to be more committed to their farming endeavors, praising the state’s ginger as some of the greatest in the world.