FG Says Farmers Lose N12bn To Ginger Disease.

Federal Government has confirmed the outbreak of ginger blight epidemic in four states in Nigeria, while, ginger farmers have lost over N12 billion due to the disease.

Speaking at the inauguration of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce in Abuja and the federal government said, the fungal disease had inflicted significant damage on ginger farms in Kaduna, Nassarawa Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, said the blight had caused billions of naira in losses, impacting not only the livelihoods of farmers, but also Nigeria’s position as the world’s second-largest ginger producer.

Abdullahi, also said, the Federal Government through the National Agricultural Development Fund would launch a N1.6 billion recovery package for affected farmers in ginger-producing areas, adding that, the ginger blight epidemic served as a stark reminder of the importance of preparedness in safeguarding agricultural resources, as well as investing in research, extension services and farmer support systems.

On his part, the Chairman of the task force committee, Abubakar Abdullahi, said there was no doubt that, the blight on ginger had negatively affected the Gross Domestic Product earnings from this subsector.