Nigerian ginger farmers lost N12 billion to a catastrophic blight epidemic that decimated their crops in 2023, Aliyu Abdullahi, minister of state for agriculture and food security, has revealed.
The minister also disclosed plans by the federal agric ministry to partner with the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) and PULA Advisers to incorporate agricultural insurance into the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) programme.
Abdullahi spoke at a train-the-trainer workshop in Abuja on Wednesday, where he noted that the NAGS-AP programme, which began in the 2023 dry season with wheat cultivation, has resulted in a bountiful harvest.
“Nevertheless, it is our objective and responsibility to protect the investment and interventions being made by the government and our financing partner, the African Development Bank (AfDB), via NAGS-AP in addressing the sustainability and security of our local food systems, especially given our growing population.”
The minister said it was obvious Nigeria needed a climate risk mitigation solution, noting that risks had become a central issue affecting the government, financiers, and beneficiary farmers, who stand to lose the most from seasons of bad harvests.
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Highlighting one of the unfortunate incidences of the 2023 wet farming season, he said ginger farmers in Kaduna suffered from the outbreak of the ginger blight disease; losing over 90 percent of their total harvest for the season.
“Only a few of those ginger farmers who took our insurance protection received monetary compensation for their harvest losses,” he said
“In total, it was estimated that Nigerian ginger farmers incurred losses up to N12 billion due to the catastrophic blight epidemic that decimated their crops in 2023. That is some food for thought and something that we all have to bear in mind.”
The minister cited the 2024 Annual Flood Outlook report, released by the ministry of water resources and sanitation, which alerted that 148 local government areas in 31 states were high flood-risk areas, while 249 LGAs in 36 states and the FCT fall within moderate flood-risk areas.
“In simple terms, 397 LGAs out of the total 774 LGAs in Nigeria, representing over 51 percent of our farming areas, are at risk of flood. We are witnessing the clear and present existential threats of climate change and its impact on our local food systems. Climate change is real. It has become inevitable to integrate insurance as a key component of our NAGS programme to ensure sustainability and food security”.
Folashade Joseph, MD/CEO, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) stressed the readiness of the corporation to partner with stakeholders.
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