The Nigerian federal government has said the outbreak of the ginger blight disease in four states in Nigeria has resulted in a loss of over N12 billion by farmers.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed this on Monday at the inauguration of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce in Abuja.
He noted that the fungal disease had significantly damaged ginger farms in Kaduna, Nasarawa Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory.
He added that the blight had caused billions of naira in losses, impacting farmers’ odds and Nigeria’s position. Nigeria is the world’s second-world ginger producer.
“Our preliminary estimates suggested that affected farmers in southern Kaduna lost over N12 billion.
“Furthermore, considering that over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s ginger occurs in this region, we can safely assume a substantial loss of cultivated land, potentially exceeding 70 per cent of total land,” he stated.
Abdullahi stated that through the National Agricultural Development Fund, the Federal Government would launch a N1.6 billion recovery package for affected farmers in ginger-producing areas.
“It is of necessity and great urgency that various subcommittees are put in place to forestall these negative effects,” he stated.
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