Ginger farmers seek LGs’ support on processing

The farmers in Kaduna State believed to be the highest ginger producing state in Nigeria, said if some local government councils in the state set up ginger, tamarind otherwise known as ‘tsamiya,’ fruits and other eatable farm produce processing firms in the state, they will enhance their production capacity.Tabita Ezekiel, a mother of five who […]

The farmers in Kaduna State believed to be the highest ginger producing state in Nigeria, said if some local government councils in the state set up ginger, tamarind otherwise known as ‘tsamiya,’ fruits and other eatable farm produce processing firms in the state, they will enhance their production capacity.
Tabita Ezekiel, a mother of five who said she has been producing ginger and tamarind in commercial quantities and selling them cheap to local consumers, noted that she was baffled when she learnt that ginger and tamarind are processed and bottled in neighbouring Benin Republic.
“Benin does not produce as much ginger and tamarind as we do in Nigeria. But look at how they are able to package products from the two fruits and even export them to as far as Europe and other countries. We could do the same or even better with little support from our local government councils. I have been to Songhai Farms in Benin Republic where they are producing some of these things and discovered that some of the machines they are using for processing them were even fabricated locally in the farm.
“I any case, one needs just about N100 million to set up a ginger drink brewery. That is something any local government council can do and concession the factory to the farmers association of the area. The same can be done in the case of tamarind which we have all over the North in good quantity. That way, so many people will be employed and farmers will be economically empowered,” she said.
Timothy Dal and Yakubu Fari are ginger farmers in Kafanchan area of the state. They said at different interviews that ginger farmers in the state can triple their production if any of the councils in the state establishes processing factories for farmers.