Senator Sunday Marshall Katung from Southern Kaduna has again Urged the federal government to provide compensation to ginger farmers impacted by the outbreak of fungal pathogens, resulting in losses exceeding N10 billion.
The senator stated this at a one day workshop, organized by the Senate committee on Capital Market in collaboration with Lagos Commodities and future Exchange, in Abuja.
Senator Katung expressed concern that ginger farmers might not resume farming activities if they do not receive compensation for the losses incurred during the outbreak of the deadly disease.
“Nigeria is currently the second-largest producer of ginger in the world, trailing only China. However, the fungal disease that struck the country last year will have a devastating effect on the farmers if they are not supported,” he said.
He therefore, called for immediate intervention from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to cushion the effect and control the spread of the disease.
It should be recalled that the Senate, in October last year, expressed concern over the N10 billion loss suffered by ginger farmers in Southern Kaduna. This followed a motion moved by Senator Katung, highlighting the urgent need to address the outbreak of the deadly disease.
Senator Katung had informed the senate that the outbreak of fungi pathogens infection destroyed over 2,500 hectares of farmlands estimated at N10 billion across seven Local Government Areas of southern part of Kaduna State.
At the workshop the Senator told the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Yahaya that “the losses the ginger farmers incurred as the result of the outbreak of the fungi disease during the last farming season was devastating.
“You have to compensate them as a way of encouraging them -farmers to go back to farming. If that is not done, the farmers will no longer be interested in farming, and we will lose our position in the world as a country,” he said.
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.
Cov/Teddy Daniels
