The Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Ayodeji Sotinrin, and the Chairman of Kachia Local Government Area, Dr Manzo Daniel Maigari, have reported encouraging signs of recovery among ginger farmers in Kachia, Kaduna State, following a BOA-led intervention supporting 3,400 farmers across 15 clusters, as inspected during a farm visit on Sunday, October 25, 2026.

The initiative provides ginger planting materials and agricultural extension services to help farmers recover from a devastating outbreak of ginger blight that destroyed crops, disrupted livelihoods and dealt a severe blow to Nigeria’s ginger industry.

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The intervention brings together the Federal Government, Kaduna State Government, agricultural institutions, local authorities, traditional leaders and farmer groups in an effort to restore production and rebuild confidence among growers.

During the visit, Mr Sotinrin inspected mature ginger crops and harvested produce from participating farms, describing the programme as part of a broader strategy to revive cultivation and expand access to quality planting materials.

The bank is also working towards establishing ginger nurseries in 16 states, a move intended to extend production beyond traditional growing areas and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to supply domestic and international markets.

A central feature of the programme is the use of tissue culture technology to multiply ginger planting materials.

Under the process described by Mr Sotinrin, ginger rhizomes are taken to specialised laboratories, where plantlets are multiplied before being transferred to nurseries to develop into seedlings for distribution to farmers.

The approach is designed to increase the availability of planting materials and support expansion beyond the communities currently covered by the programme.

Its long-term impact will depend on the quality of the materials produced, effective disease management and farmers’ ability to sustain cultivation through successive planting seasons.

Mr Sotinrin projected that Nigeria’s ginger production could reach three million tonnes within five years if the revival programme and expansion plans were sustained.

He estimated that achieving the target could generate about $3bn in economic value.

The projection represents an ambitious goal for an industry still recovering from substantial production losses.

It is an estimate offered by the bank’s managing director, rather than an independently verified production forecast.

Highlighting the potential returns available to growers, Mr Sotinrin said ginger cultivation could create significant opportunities for rural households.

“The people that you’ll call poor farmers or vulnerable farmers are the ones that will be making N70m to N80m per hectare, not me,” he said.

The figures refer to the potential earnings he associated with ginger cultivation. Actual returns would depend on yields, farm-gate prices, production costs, access to markets and the ability to manage crop diseases.

To help farmers access the resources needed for cultivation, BOA is providing financing at an interest rate of nine per cent, according to Mr Sotinrin.

The arrangement is intended to make agricultural credit more affordable and support investment in production.

Access to financing remains an important consideration for growers who lost crops and income during the blight outbreak.

Farmers recovering from substantial losses may need capital not only for planting materials but also for labour, fertilisers, land preparation, crop protection and transportation.

The scale of the original crisis explains why rebuilding the industry will require more than the distribution of seedlings.

Nigeria produced 751,473 metric tonnes of ginger in 2022, according to Food and Agriculture Organization data cited by BusinessDay.

Output subsequently fell to an estimated 67,600 tonnes in 2023 after the disease outbreak, before recovering partially to 159,600 tonnes in 2024.

The decline exposed the vulnerability of a sector in which Kaduna State plays a major role.

The disease affected farmers across southern Kaduna, including Kachia and neighbouring production areas, with losses reported to have reached 90 per cent or more in severely affected communities.

The economic consequences extended beyond individual farms. Reduced supplies contributed to higher ginger prices, disrupted trading relationships and weakened the ability of some farmers to finance subsequent planting seasons.

BusinessDay reported in January 2025 that losses associated with the outbreak were estimated at N12bn.

Against that background, the BOA intervention represents an effort to rebuild both production capacity and the livelihoods linked to the crop.

Its success will depend on whether improved planting materials translate into reliable harvests and whether farmers can obtain the financing and market access required to make cultivation commercially sustainable.

Mr Sotinrin acknowledged the contributions of President Bola Tinubu, the Kaduna State Government, the Kachia local government chairman, village heads, cluster leaders and BOA staff.

He also credited the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services with supporting efforts to restore ginger production.

The involvement of agricultural extension institutions is particularly relevant because farmers need practical guidance on disease prevention, farm management and the handling of harvested ginger.

The distribution of planting materials alone cannot guarantee recovery if the conditions that contributed to the earlier losses are not adequately addressed.

Dr Maigari said ginger blight had destroyed about 90 per cent of production in Kachia, leaving many farmers without their principal source of livelihood.

His assessment underscores the human cost of the outbreak and the importance of restoring a dependable source of income for affected households.

For growers who depend on ginger to support their families, a successful harvest can mean more than improved agricultural output.

It can help households recover lost earnings, meet essential expenses and regain the ability to invest in future planting seasons.

Beyond ginger, BOA is pursuing interventions across other agricultural value chains in partnership with the Federal Government, with the stated aim of strengthening food production and improving farmers’ earnings.

Mr Sotinrin cited the Guaranteed Minimum Price programme for maize as one example.

He said the government had purchased produce at a guaranteed floor price to support farmers when market prices fell and encourage continued production.

The bank is also exploring arrangements with processors of cassava derivatives to purchase cassava left on farms and offer growers better market opportunities.

Such measures are intended to reduce losses, improve produce sales and protect farmers from severe market fluctuations.

These initiatives reflect a broader challenge facing Nigerian agriculture: raising production while ensuring that farmers can sell their crops at prices that cover costs and provide a reasonable return.

Affordable credit, dependable markets, disease-resistant planting materials and effective extension services will all be important to that effort.

For Kachia’s ginger farmers, the emerging harvests offer a welcome sign of recovery after a devastating period.

Whether the current intervention can restore Nigeria’s former production levels and meet BOA’s ambitious targets will become clearer as the programme expands and successive harvests are recorded.

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For now, the priority is to turn the promise of renewed production into a durable recovery, helping farmers rebuild their livelihoods while restoring the place of Nigerian ginger in domestic and international markets.