With Nigeria’s ginger production struggling to keep pace with growing demand, smallholder farmers find themselves trapped in a cycle of diminishing yields and escalating pest infestations. Recent agricultural surveys estimate that the country’s yearly ginger output has declined in the past three years, even as global demand for the prized root continues to soar. This downward trend casts a looming shadow over the livelihood of thousands of farmers who depend heavily on ginger cultivation, MOYOSORE SALAMI writes.
Nigeria, known as the world’s second largest producer of ginger, boasts vast tracts of arable land conducive to the crop. Despite these natural advantages, the sector remains challenged by a number of issues ranging from inadequate pest management to erratic weather patterns caused by climate change and others.
The 2023 ginger blight epidemic, which decimated up to 90 per cent of the yields and resulted in an estimated loss of N12 billion (around $7.57 million), highlights the serious vulnerability of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
Senior research analyst, James Fasakin, believes that the sector’s issues are compounded by limited access to credit, leaving farmers without the necessary tools to invest in modern inputs and technologies. This lack of investment leads to reduced yields, higher production costs, and products that often fail to meet international standards, causing Nigeria to lose market share to more efficient and stable competitors.
Despite the processing stage of the ginger value chain offering the highest profit margin, processors earning up to 70 percent of their investments, the sector remains underdeveloped, leaving significant growth opportunities untapped. A holistic, integrated approach to addressing these interconnected challenges is essential for unlocking the full potential of the ginger industry.
Data from the Journal of Agripreneurship and Sustainable Development further illustrates the volatility in the country’s ginger production, with output fluctuating between 420,000 MT and 927,041 MT. Prices have also been unstable, with fluctuations ranging from N145 per kilogram to as high as N690.50 per kilogram, leading to a standard deviation of N183.25/kg in price alone.
From 2000 to 2006, ginger production dominated with large cultivation areas (averaging 169,857 hectares, or 51.3 percent of the global total) but low yields (6,186 MT/ha). The following phase, from 2007 to 2014, saw better yields of 21,017 MT/ha from 2007 to 2010, though cultivated land dropped to 52,256 hectares (20.5 percent of the global total).
A brief surge in 2011 saw yields climb to 54,085 MT/ha before falling back. By 2019, the third phase marked a more stable improvement, with yields climbing to 82,138 MT/ha, and cultivated land stabilising at 80,104 hectares (21.8 per cent of the global total).
Despite these gains, experts continue to warn that the sector’s growth is undermined by persistent disease, high production costs, and unstable markets.
Data from Statista show that the ginger production saw a slight decline in 2023, falling to 781,000 MT from 734,000 MT in 2020, with further drops expected.
Prices have surged dramatically, with a measure of ginger now costing N12,500 up from under N1,000 just a few years ago and small plates of ginger jumping from N100 to N2,000 in some markets.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Nigeria’s ginger export declined by 74 per cent to N6.28 billion in nine months of 2024 from N23.76 billion in the period of 2023.
Ginger has become a top-notch cash crop in Nigeria and is one of the commodities targeted by the Federal Government to revamp the Nigerian economy and boost exports.
Attempts by the Federal Government to control the outbreak have yielded no results, as farmers continue to count their losses, particularly in Kaduna and Kano, the two major ginger growers.
The minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, revealed that ginger farmers have lost over N12 billion to the epidemic since 2023.
In October 2023, the Nigerian government provided ginger farmers with N1.6 billion to support the affected farmers and distributed pesticides and fungicides to farmers in several key growing states, hoping to bring respite.
However, experts believe that what the country needs are disease-resistant seeds that can withstand attacks of the fungus, and not more pesticides and herbicides.
Initial report states that the price of ginger jumped six times in two years, rising from N50, 000 per bag in 2023 to N300,000 in 2025.
Farmers attribute the price hike to low supply created by the devastating effects of the 2023 ginger blight disease, which resulted in N12 billion losses for Nigerian farmers.
Although budgetary allocation to the National Agricultural Seeds Council increased by 36 percent to N3.8 billion in 2025 from N2.8 billion in 2024, farmers still lack access to quality seeds and seedlings.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Nigeria is among the world’s largest producers of ginger, churning out about 781,000 metric tons annually as of 2023. But with recurrent ginger blight disease, the country might lose its global ginger position.
Recently, the Federal Government under the National Agricultural Development Fund, The Ginger Recovery Advancement and Transformation for Economic Empowerment (GRATE) introduced an initiative, a strategic investment poised to revitalise the ginger farming sector in Nigeria. Through the funding of N1.6 billion, GRATE will support ginger farmers affected by the recent epidemic impacting crucial crops in Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The initiative aimed to provide immediate recovery assistance to 15,000 ginger farmers impacted by the ginger blight epidemic, introduce high-yield seed varieties and essential farming inputs to bolster productivity and safeguard against future crop challenges. And align with the significant uptick in Nigeria’s ginger export revenues, ensuring sustainable growth for the agriculture export economy.
With endorsement from the presidency, as noted by Marian Moon, the Technical Assistant on Agriculture from the Office of the Vice President, the GRATE initiative is a pivotal aspect of the government’s renewed focus on agriculture. This approach spotlights ginger farming as a valuable segment within the broader agriculture sector intended for robust support and development.
The Federal Government has acknowledged the crisis, with the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sabi Abdullahi, inaugurating a national committee to address the blight, especially in Kaduna where farmers have lost over N20 billion.
Worrying Decline In Ginger Production
THE President of the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN), Gagarin Madaki, lamented the continued decline in ginger production across the country, attributing the situation primarily to a devastating fungal outbreak compounded by worsening insecurity in key ginger-producing regions, especially southern Kaduna.
Speaking on the current state of ginger cultivation in Nigeria, he recalled that in May and June 2023, the ginger industry was hit hard by an outbreak of ginger blight, a fungal disease known as Proxipyricularia zingiberis. He said the disease outbreak ravaged thousands of hectares of farmland, particularly, in southern Kaduna, responsible for about 85 per cent of Nigeria’s total ginger output and internationally acclaimed for its quality.
He explained that the fungal disease has spread rapidly across eight local government areas in southern Kaduna, with some areas experiencing up to a 95 per cent decline in production .
Madaki pointed out that the outbreak has also caused a severe shortage of ginger seeds, making replanting efforts difficult for farmers to replant and sustain cultivation. “The scarcity has driven demand to an all-time high and high demand has led to even higher seed prices,” noting that production costs have surged due to rising prices of seed, fertilisers and fungicides. He warned that the ginger is fast becoming uncompetitive in the global market as a result of insecurity which has compounded the situation due to threats from kidnappers and bandits in major farming communities discouraging farming activities and disrupting the entire ginger supply chain.
He said the decline in production has had a ripple effect on both local markets and export performance. According to him, many farmers have either abandoned their ginger farms or shifted to other crops, leading to shortages in local markets and a sharp drop in exports. “The scarcity has driven up the price of ginger, making it unaffordable for many consumers and affecting small businesses that depend on it,” he said. He added that the loss of income has been devastating for farmers across affected areas.
Despite the crisis, Madaki said the National Ginger Association of Nigeria is working closely with affected farmers to find long-term solutions. He revealed that the association began a recovery process in 2024, which will continue through the 2025 harvest season. The initiative is aimed at improving best practices for ginger production and increasing resilience against disease.
He disclosed that the association has turned to laboratory-based seed multiplication techniques to support farmers, with plans underway to establish trial seed banks in select communities. “Once the model is proven effective, we plan to scale it across ginger producing clusters,” he said.
Challenges In Ginger Value Chain
GINGER value chain expert, Silas Ashi David, said various stages of the ginger value chain in Nigeria and the significant challenges faced by farmers, processors, and exporters, particularly, in the southern Kaduna region of Kaduna State, which remains one of the country’s major ginger-producing areas.
He explained that the ginger value chain consists of several key stages, starting from input supply, production, and processing, to marketing and consumption. At the input supply stage, farmers often struggle to access quality seedlings, fertilisers, and equipment and that the high cost of these inputs, coupled with their poor quality, continues to hinder productivity and profits for ginger farmers.
At the production stage, he noted that ginger thrives under specific bio-geographic conditions found in southern Kaduna, but that the region’s farmers are increasingly facing difficulties such as declining soil fertility and outdated farming technologies which makes ginger cultivation remains labour-intensive and largely manual, which limits output and efficiency.
David added that after harvesting, the first stage of processing, washing, slicing, and drying is mostly handled by smallholder farmers. However, he pointed out that the second stage of processing, which involves turning ginger into products such as powder, essential oils, and confectionery, is usually carried out by large companies outside Nigeria adding that this lack of domestic industrial processing results in a loss of value and revenue for the country.
He further explained that traders and exporters serve as a vital link between producers and markets, with Nigeria exporting large volumes of ginger to international destinations such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, and India but that despite high export volumes, Nigeria’s dominance in raw ginger export without value addition continues to limit earning from the crop.
According to him, several major bottlenecks persist throughout the value chain such as high labour costs, poor access to mechanised farming equipment, inefficient marketing systems, and the dominance of middlemen as significant obstacles that reduce the income of farmers.
He added that most farmers lack direct access to international markets and are unable to benefit from fair pricing. According to him, the ginger industry suffers from a lack of industrialisation, pointing out that the majority of ginger is exported raw owing to the absence of modern local processing facilities and poor storage infrastructure, which have further worsen the situation by forcing farmers to sell their produce quickly at low prices, reducing their earnings.
David warned that quality control has become an increasingly serious issue, especially with the spread of blight disease across many farms resulting to rise in the use of herbicides and pesticides has led to increased contamination, threatening the export potential of Nigerian ginger. He also pointed to the limited access to finance as a major setback, saying smallholder farmers often struggle to obtain loans due to high interest rates and unfavourable loan conditions, which affects their capacity to scale up production.
He added that ineffective research and development efforts have made it difficult to adopt innovative methods for ginger farming and processing, while ongoing security challenges such as banditry and kidnappings in major ginger-producing areas have disrupted farming activities and significantly affected harvests.
At the production level, David said farmers face a range of challenges including poor agricultural practices, reduced soil fertility, poor access to quality inputs, erratic climate conditions, pest and disease outbreaks, limited mechanisations, and inadequate irrigation. He said these problems result in lower yields, poor product quality, high production costs, and volatile prices, ultimately affecting the entire flow of ginger through the value chain.
Commenting on the challenges facing Nigeria’s ginger value chain, Fasakin, warned that systemic issues are weakening Nigeria’s position in the global ginger market, despite its strong reputation for producing one of the world’s most aromatic and pungent ginger varieties.
“The main issues confronting Nigeria’s ginger industry can be divided into several key factors. First, the low yields that result from outdated farming practices, reliance on unimproved ginger varieties, and the inadequate use of modern technology.
“Second, the ongoing threat of diseases such as ginger blight, which wiped out over 90 percent of the 2023 harvest, has led to a worrying drop in production, significantly affecting the supply chain.”
Fasakin further emphasised that financial constraints present a significant barrier to growth. “Many smallholder farmers simply cannot afford the modern inputs required to increase yields or manage diseases effectively. This is compounded by the lack of access to credit and institutional support, which limits their ability to invest in the necessary tools and chemicals to mitigate risks like ginger blight.”
According to him, at the post-harvest stage, the country faces substantial losses due to insufficient storage and rudimentary processing methods. “Most ginger is sun-dried, which leads to quality degradation and risks of mycotoxin contamination. Such contamination is particularly problematic when seeking to enter international markets, especially the European Union, which enforces stringent quality standards for contaminants.”
Despite these pressing issues, Fasakin stressed that there are notable opportunities for Nigeria to regain its competitive edge in global ginger markets. “While Nigeria’s ginger is of exceptionally high quality, the lack of a cohesive strategy to address production inefficiencies, improve processing standards, and meet export requirements has caused Nigeria to lose market share to more efficient competitors like Peru and Brazil.”
A key shortcoming, he stated, is the lack of quantitative, ginger-specific data on economic and logistical aspects of the value chain. “Current reports are often too generalised, referencing broader agricultural challenges rather than offering detailed data specific to ginger. For example, while post-harvest losses in Nigeria can range from 30 to 50 percent, it’s unclear how these losses specifically impact ginger.” This data gap, he continued, makes it difficult for policymakers and investors to make informed decisions on how to best improve the sector.
In terms of scientific advancements, Fasakin commended the efforts of institutions like the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) in Umudike. “NRCRI has been at the forefront of developing improved ginger varieties and disease management strategies, using advanced technologies like molecular markers and tissue culture, however, the challenge remains in the widespread adoption of these innovations.”
Fasakin explained that while NRCRI has made significant strides in producing high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties, structural barriers prevent broader adoption. “The two primary ginger varieties ‘Tafin Giwa’ (yellow ginger) and ‘Yatsun Biri’ (black ginger) remain dominant, but their genetic vulnerability was painfully evident during the ginger blight of 2023, and the high cost of improved seeds and limited access to seed systems means that many farmers continue using their own harvests for planting, thus perpetuating the cycle of disease and low productivity.”
Climate Change, Ecological Threats To Ginger Farming
AGRICULTURAL extension specialist and Team Lead at Co2carboncredit Technology, Stanley Adimabua, noted that the ecological threats facing ginger cultivation is because of climate change and outdated farming systems for the rapid loss of indigenous ginger varieties.
Adimabua said that climate change remains the most significant environmental threat to ginger farming in Nigeria, and has directly contributed to the recent outbreak of wild diseases in key production regions, particularly in Kaduna State. “The impact of climate change is no longer a distant risk, it’s here, and it’s destroying our ginger farms,” he said.
He recalled that in 2022, the Netherlands Government, through the CBI Ministry of Foreign Affairs, partnered with FATE Foundation to launch the Ginger Youth Value Chains Development Programme. As a participant in the program, Adimabua was mandated to carry out a trial cultivation of ginger in Delta and Akwa Ibom States. “The trial was successful, but shortly after, there were alarming reports of a strange disease outbreak in Kaduna, leading to the massive loss of Nigeria’s indigenous ginger varieties.”
Adimabua expressed concern that, to date, there is no known functional policy or institution in Nigeria specifically overseeing the multiplication or conservation of indigenous ginger varieties, a situation he described as deeply troubling.
Way Forward
MADAKI also stressed the need for the development of disease-resistant ginger varieties but was quick to clarify that the association is being cautious. “Farmers are calling for resistant varieties, and we are exploring those options, but we are also mindful not to end up with genetically modified (GMO) seeds.”
Calling for greater government intervention, Madaki urged the establishment of a National Ginger Seed Bank to ensure a steady supply of high-quality seeds. He also called for subsidies and financial assistance to help farmers recover from the devastating impacts of the fungal outbreak.
He recommended a broader market rehabilitation strategy, including origin branding, quality certification, and digital traceability to help Nigerian ginger regain its place in the global market.
Madaki further called for targeted investment in the ginger value chain, including in processing infrastructure, storage facilities, and proper post-harvest handling. “We are at a turning point, if we want to protect this vital crop and the thousands of livelihoods it supports, we must act boldly and decisively with support from both public and private sectors.”
To address these issues, David called for a comprehensive approach that includes farmer training, improved access to quality inputs, the introduction of mechanised tools and technologies, and strategic market development. He outlined innovative farming practices that could boost productivity, such as better soil preparation, effective planting and spacing techniques, improved irrigation systems, pest and disease management strategies, and optimised fertilisation.
David noted that Nigeria has a significant opportunity to increase its ginger exports due to growing global demand. He said diversifying export markets, increasing efficiency in the value chain, and promoting sustainable farming practices could position Nigeria as a key player in the international ginger market.
He stated that both public and private sector efforts are essential to achieving this. He said the government can support exporters by simplifying registration and licensing procedures, investing in infrastructure such as roads, railways, and ports, and providing market research and promotional support to help businesses expand into new markets.
On the private sector side, he called for improved access to finance for farmers and exporters, provision of technical assistance to enhance production quality, and stronger linkages between Nigerian producers and international buyers.
He also highlighted the role of key institutions supporting the ginger sector, mentioning the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), which provides registration and market promotion services; the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN), which helps set production and export standards; and Agricorp International, a company specialising in ginger processing and export that has secured funding to expand its operations.
David added that with the right investments, policies, and partnerships, Nigeria can strengthen its position in the global ginger market, boost rural incomes, and increase non-oil export earnings.
Adimabua recommended a shift away from sole cropping systems toward agroforestry-based farming models. He explained that many ginger farmers rely on monocropping, and when they face financial or input challenges, they often abandon ginger in favour of more accessible crops such as maize.
He suggested that growing ginger in agroforestry systems alongside permanent tree crops like coconut palms and oil palms could help conserve indigenous ginger species.
Adimabua emphasised that the loss of planting materials following the disease outbreak in major ginger-producing communities in Kaduna has deepened the crisis. “Many farmers could not afford to replant after the outbreak, and with no conservation strategy in place, we risk losing the very identity of Nigerian ginger.”
He, therefore, called on both farmers and the government to adopt more sustainable and resilient farming systems to safeguard the future of Nigeria’s ginger industry.
