The Federal Government, through the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), has launched an intervention program to support smallholder ginger farmers in Kaduna State affected by the ginger blight disease.
The program will provide agricultural inputs to 5,000 farmers across seven local government areas, aimed at helping them recover from the impact of the disease.
National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) Executive Secretary, Muhammad Abu Ibrahim, announced during the flag-off ceremony on Tuesday in Kachia that the organization has launched the first phase of its input distribution program under the Ginger Recovery Advancement and Transformation for Economic Empowerment (G-RATE) initiative.
The programme, according to Ibrahim, is designed to provide the necessary agricultural inputs to smallholder ginger farmers, as part of the Federal Government’s support.
He explained that it would help farmers implement crop rotation on their blight-affected farms, mitigating the economic losses incurred due to the disease and ultimately improving their livelihoods.
“The programme will enable the affected farmers practice crop rotation on their farms affected by the ginger blight disease while also supporting them towards improved livelihoods from the economic losses they incurred due to the impact of the disease,” he said.
“NADF will further support the crop production process by providing Monitoring and Evaluation services, good agronomic practices and market linkages for the farmers while also developing programmes to strengthen and develop the entire ginger value chain.”
Kaduna State Governor Sen Uba Sani, represented by Deputy Governor Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, commended the Federal Government for its unwavering support to the state, pledging to continue collaborating with the federal authorities and other stakeholders to enhance the well-being of the state’s citizens.
The governor also expressed gratitude for the prompt intervention measures, particularly the establishment of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Taskforce, aimed at addressing the devastating impact of the ginger blight disease on the state’s ginger farmers.
The NADF has shared that the first phase of the program will provide inputs such as maize and sorghum seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, and crop protection products to registered and validated smallholder ginger farmers across the affected local government areas of Kachia, Zango-Kataf, Kaura, Kagarko, Jema’a, Jabba, and Sanga.