By Abdullahi lukman
Nigerian ginger farmers have cried out to the federal government to intensify efforts at saving the ginger industry from imminent collapse.
The appeal was made by Jerry Tobi, Chief Farmer, who highlighted several critical challenges facing the sector, including fungal infections, escalating production costs, and a lack of disease-resistant seed varieties.
Tobi warned that if not addressed, Nigeria’s once-thriving ginger industry, worth an estimated $1.3 billion annually in the global market, could be irreparably damaged.
While acknowledging the ₦6 billion intervention provided by President Bola Tinubu through the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) in 2024, Tobi emphasized that this support alone was insufficient to resolve the ongoing crisis.
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He pointed out that farmers have seen up to 90 percent of their expected yields destroyed by diseases such as ginger blight, rhizome rot, and bacterial wilt, leading to massive economic losses.
The price of ginger seeds has surged, and with the soaring cost of production reaching $10,000 per metric tonne in Nigeria, many farmers are unable to continue.
As a result, the country has lost an estimated 313,800 metric tonnes of ginger annually, equating to a daily loss of $2.1 million (₦3.3 billion).
Tobi also warned of the broader implications, including a decline in Nigeria’s export market share to competitors like India and China.
He noted that many farmers in affected regions face economic despair, leading to rural-urban migration, youth unemployment, and escalating insecurity, which could threaten national security.
If the government fails to intervene, the ginger sector risks total collapse, and the livelihoods of over 100,000 farmers could be lost, with each farmer losing between ₦10 million and ₦15 million annually.
