Sen. Sunday Katung (PDP-Kaduna South) has empowered no fewer than 150 ginger farmers in his constituency with knowledge on the modern processing of the cash crop.
The exercise was undertaken in collaboration with the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) in Zonkwa, headquarters of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area under Southern Kaduna which is the largest producer of ginger in Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, Katung stated that equipping the farmers on modern ginger processing had become necessary to boost their yield.
Katung, who was represented by Christopher Haruna, a former Council Chairman of Zangon Kataf, the lawmaker explained that the high demand for ginger meant the farmers needed to leverage on technology.
“We are doing this training to motivate people to adopt change and when you adopt change you will see significant differences.
“It is my hope that training like this will transform our capability to create income from this goldmine God has embedded in our land,” he added.
According to him, 15 ginger slicing machines will be given to the farmers, with each one allocated to a group of 10 persons as well as a token of N50, 000 to each farmer.
He restated his resolve to floating initiatives that have a direct bearing on the lives of his constituents.
In his remarks, Dr Abdulgafar Kamal, the Executive Director of NCAM, enjoined the participants to make the best use of the training to better their lot and that of their communities.
Represented by Mr Joseph Adebija, he said the organisation would continue to provide technical support to ginger farmers in the area.
Ibrahim Sodangi, a Professor of Crop Production at the Kaduna State University spoke on ginger farming business, global competitiveness and understanding the value of Nigerian ginger species.
Sodangi stressed that while Nigeria’s ginger was in high demand, the sector faces a number of challenges including poor soil fertility, shortage of improved varieties and low use of technology amongst others.
Also speaking, Mary Fadason and Atama Alura thanked the lawmaker for the empowerment initiative, adding that they were now better equipped in ginger farming.
Other participants, who spoke, promised to step down what they had learnt to other farmers in their various communities.