•Seeks intervention From NEMA, NCDC, Agric ministry
By Andrew Oota
Senate yesterday expressed concerns that ginger farmers have lost over N10 billion in Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State and called for immediate intervention of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
This came on the heels of a motion sponsored by Sunday Marshall Katung (PDP Kaduna South) on the urgent need to address the outbreak of a deadly disease affecting ginger production in Southern Kaduna, the lawmaker said ginger has been grown in the Southern part of Kaduna State since about 1927, and it has steadily increased in its importance as a valuable commodity over the intervening years.
According to him, “Further notes that Kaduna State ranks the highest in ginger production in Nigeria, contributing to Nigeria’s place as one of the largest producers of ginger in the world, with a production average of more than 300,000 tonnes during the five-year period 2014-2018, and a global market share of about 11 per cent, trailing only India;
“Cognizant that as a subset of the agricultural sector, ginger production has a significant impact on revenue generation and farmers income, thereby reducing the rate of poverty amongst the local farmers of southern Kaduna and the country at large;
“Also cognizant that apart from its revenue generating potential, the consumption of ginger has many health benefits ranging from the prevention of stomach ulcers, the reduction of nausea and vomiting amongst pregnant women, to chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients;
“Worried that the 2023 ginger season in Southern Kaduna State has suffered a significant setback due to an outbreak of fungi pathogens infection destroying over 2,500 hectares of farmlands estimated at 10 Billion Naira across seven Local Government Areas of southern Kaduna State, thereby significantly threatening Nigeria’s position on the world chart of ginger production;
“Also worried that this devastating and unprecedented ginger pandemic affects Nigeria’s non-oil export performance and is already affecting the lives of many individuals within the affected communities of southern Kaduna because ginger is their source of livelihood;
“Disturbed about the public health risks of this deadly disease because research has revealed that organisms that affect plants may develop some sort of host jumping, with the mutation or development of the mechanism switching over to the host, and the pathogen that was earlier infecting plants changing and infecting human beings,” Katung said.
