Nigeria Ginger Farmers Embrace Organic Farming After Blight Devastation

News in Brief

-Nigeria's ginger association plans recovery via organic farming, three years after the 2023 ginger blight devastation.

-The seed preservation scheme is already dropping ginger seed prices from ₦1m to ₦400k per bag and mandating certifications to tap into the export market.

Three years after the devastating outbreak of Ginger Blight cost ginger farmers in Nigeria several billions of naira in lost harvests, the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN) is charting a new path to survival. Through the adoption of purely organic farming, a seed preservation and recovery scheme and a total revamp of membership to ensure best practices among farmers, the association aims at a drastic recovery to pre-2023 production levels.

In an exclusive interview with The Junction discussing development in the Ginger sector since the blight disaster, the National President of NGAN, Mr Gagarin Madaki, detailed the lasting impact of the disaster as he revealed the association's ongoing efforts to recover from the loss recorded in 2023.

Loss Beyond the Reported Figures

Nigeria's ginger industry, a significant contributor to the nation's agricultural exports, faced a critical turning point after the 2023 blight outbreak. Ginger harvests officially pegged at ₦12 billion were lost, the export market collapsed, and ginger prices in the country shot to a record high level. 

However, the NGAN President disputed the widely reported ₦12 billion loss figure, stating it was significantly understated.

"I do not know where they got that 12 billion. For me, it's over 20 billion naira," he claimed. “If we claim that we export $10 million to $20 million worth of ginger every year. And now we do not achieve up to $1 million. So what does that mean? Just do a direct mathematics of it, and you know that it's over ₦20 billion lost.”

According to him, the blight didn’t just kill crops and collapse the export market. It also disrupted the ginger value chain, driving seed prices to astronomical levels and making it hard for smallholder farmers to replant the next season. This adversely affected the lives of many farmers who were thrown into huge debts, severe health issues, and some even lost their lives due to the stress. 

"There are people in villages who lost about ₦30 million. Do you know what it's like for somebody in the village to have ginger farms worth that much? When the produce was priced at ₦30,000 per bag, a farmer had that much on his farm. All those people lost their money completely. No compensation!” he noted.

Pivot to Organic Ginger Farming

Madaki noted that the pivot to organic ginger farming stems from NGAN's internal audit during the 2023 crisis peak, which revealed that farmers who practised pure organic ginger farming were not affected by the outbreak. 

The president noted that while there are different speculations and theories for the cause of the fungal outbreak, the association found out that those spared had applied pure organic methods using things like cow dung and chicken manure.

According to Madaki, this insight elevated organic farming from niche to necessity. He noted that though initial yields may dip while applying organic methods, it averts total failures during outbreaks and fetches premium prices abroad where demand surges for certified organic produce. 

The Need to Revamp NGAN Membership

The decision to promote organic farming also necessitates a revamp of the ginger farmers' association membership, the President explained. 

“We have on record about fifty to sixty thousand farmers. However, the executives have decided that we are going to scrap all existing lists and start the association all over again,” he said, noting the plans of the association to set new targets for farmers who are willing to join the association.

Madaki noted that farmers who choose to join the new association must have or be ready to obtain organic farming certifications such as the Global Gap certification, USDA organic certification or Rain Forest certification.

“It is only if you are interested in any of these three that you should join National Ginger,” he stressed. “We are saying that if anybody comes to Nigeria and wants to ask for certified ginger, let them direct the person to the ginger association. That's our vision.”

He noted that the requirement is to ensure global best agricultural practices, such as traceability and safe chemical use, while also increasing the value of Nigerian Ginger in the international market. 

Seed Preservation and Recovery Drive

To address the issue of scarce ginger seeds for farming, the NGAN leadership is currently leading a seed preservation drive to store 70% of the harvested ginger for replanting. This initiative will help cushion the effect of high ginger seed prices, which cost about ₦1 million at their peak, compared to the pre-2023 price of 30,000 per 50kg bag.

“This year, the price for high-quality seeds has dropped to around ₦350,000 to ₦400,000. We hope that next year, it will drop ₦200,000 or even further," Madaki stated, noting the impact of this strategy.

He admitted that while this will affect potential income for vendors, it is necessary for the survival of the ginger industry. The preservation of these seeds will not only increase availability but also ensure the genetic security of seeds and prevent another disease outbreak.

The president projected a five 5-year recovery period, seed prices would eventually return to more affordable levels, making ginger farming more economically viable again