Ginger farmers lost N12bn in 2023 – Minister
In a related development, Nigerian ginger farmers lost N12 billion in 2023 to blight epidemic. Minister of State for Agriculture Aliyu Abdullahi exposed. In tackling such challenges, the federal agriculture ministry shall collaborate with Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) and PULA Advisers in incorporating insurance into National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro Pocket NAGS-AP programme. While also commending the success of NAGS-AP programme in 2023 Dry Season, Abdullahi however stressed the immediate need for climate risk mitigation revealed by huge losses on ginger harvests in Kaduna and flood risks that consume over fifty-one percent (51%) agriculture land spaces across Nigeria.
Source: BusinessDay
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In 2023, altogether however, the catastrophic blight epidemic that led to Nigerian ginger farmers losing N12 billion has highlighted an unmistakable urgent necessity for broad but cost effective risk mitigation strategies in agriculture. The loss has caused over ninety per cent of the ginger harvested in Kaduna went bad, further revealing Nigeria’s agricultural sector as one of the more vulnerable to climate related risk and disease. The federal government has taken a crucial step to protect the investments of farmers and continuity of local food systems by introducing agricultural insurance into its National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP).
It said the collaboration is geared towards offering farmers insurance against unexpected events that can affect their farm as well helps them not only to recover from losses but also allow continued production. The move is good for ginger farmers and a model to support other crops & regions thereby strengthening resilience of the Agriculture value chain.
This underscores the imperative of mainstreaming climate-smart agriculture, making greater use of insurance as a risk management tool and correctly educating farmers on what protections are available to them. These are all key to driving economic expansion, ensuring food supply and keeping the lifeblood of millions of Nigerian farmers alive.
