Ginger farmers want FG to create a level-playing ground or stakeholders

Mikah Adamu, acting president of the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN), has called on the federal government to create a level-playing ground for stakeholders, through the apex body, to showcase the Central Bank of Nigeria, Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (CBN/ABP) this year’s wet season.

Adamu said this in Asaba at the weekend while inaugurating the executive members of the South-South Zone of the association comprising Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers and Bayelsa states chapters.

He said this was important because ginger is the third commodity that brings revenue to the country aside from oil revenue, though the product is not where it ought to be today.

He noted that the value chain of the product are ginger processors, ginger marketers as well as exporters amongst others and urged the newly elected South-South exco to ensure more farmers are registered to help boost the nation’s GDP.

He appealed to the government to assist through the provision of farm inputs and machines that would enable the production of both quality and quantity ginger for export so as to meet the international standards of most agricultural products.

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In his goodwill message, Ezra Yakusak, the executive director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Commission (NEPC), represented by Joe Itah, regional coordinator, NEPC, South-South, Port Harcourt, noted that “non-oil export is the only alternative for us to diversify the economy by creating employment and wealth for our people since crude oil price has become uncertain in recent time in the international market.

“Coming together today to inaugurate the South-South Executive members to steer the affairs of the association is a giant stride, he added as he commended the association for its efforts towards increasing ginger production for export from the region.

Julius Egbedi, the commissioner, Delta State Ministry of Agriculture in a goodwill message delivered through Ben Agama, the permanent secretary of the ministry, lauded the association saying that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is a farmer-friendly governor and would support them as ginger is a money-spinning product

The government is glad to know that the efforts of the Delta State Chapter of the association have yielded to cultivating hectares of ginger farms, hence he commended the association for their efforts.

Earlier in his welcome address, Harrison Oppiah, chairman of NGAN in Delta State, disclosed that “today, we have an eight months ginger farm whose part has been harvested. These achievements have disapproved the assertion/belief that ginger can only grow in the northern part of Nigeria.”

He said, “We (the South-South NGAN) have well over 7,000 hectares of land for farming at different locations in Delta State, 5,000 in Rivers State, about 4,000 in Edo State and in other states of the region.’

He called on the governments of the region to support them in providing guarantees to banks for them to access finance to farm ginger in this year’s wet season.