Kaduna State Government is planning to transform the ginger industry with the aim of creating jobs, generating revenue and alleviating poverty by empowering its farmers.
The proposed Ginger Investment Policy and Strategy implementation will attract investments and enhance commercialization in the ginger value chain, thereby attracting a significant amount of the $3billion global ginger market to the state.
The Executive Secretary of Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), Malam Khalil Nur Khalil, described ginger as a potential money spinner for the state when the proposed policy is implemented.
‘’In spite of the several interventions by the government and Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs), ginger production is presently carried out by small scale operators who cultivated less than half a hectare per year’’, he said.
Malam Khalil noted that ginger has been grown in in the southern part of Kaduna state since about 1927, and it has steadily increased in importance as a valuable commodity.
‘’The very first shipment of ginger for export went out from a village in southern Kaduna called Gantan in 1928/29. So, by 1966 Nigeria was recorded to have become the second largest world exporter of ginger after China.
‘’Prior to the creation of present states, ginger had contributed about 19% of the total GDP of northern Nigeria,’’ he added.
According to him, Nigeria is still the third-largest producer of ginger in the world, with a production average of more than 300,000 tonnes during the five-year period 2014-2018. Its global market share is about 11 per cent, trailing only India (35%) and China (18%).
The Executive Secretary however noted that Kaduna state ranks first in ginger production in Nigeria, adding that it is cultivated in Kachia, Jaba, Kagarko and Jema’a local government areas in Kaduna state.
