AS
the country aspires to middle-income industrial economy, there’s a call to
promote ginger production as key domestic and export commodity, which could
spur socio-economic growth among local farmers.
Contributing to the
Prime Minister’s budget estimates for
FY2017/18, nominated Member of Parliament, Anne Kilango Malecela, said it was
high time the government took up ginger farming seriously and matched it with
its industrialisation drive.
Ms Malecela noted that
ginger has high demand in domestic and international markets, and called on the
government to commit resources in the production of the spicy crops, known
worldwide for its culinary and medicinal qualities.
She noted ginger has a
number of excellent uses and benefits, including normal consumption, production
of industrial beverage and cosmetics, and the government should make it one of
the priority crops, which can provide financial security and employment to
local farmers.
“Ginger farming will
boost our economic growth apart from providing more employment opportunities
for our farmers,” she said, urging the
country to follow on the footsteps of Nigeria, which is among the top five
ginger producers in the world.
“Nigeria is third leading
export of ginger, only behind China and India, we need to follow on their lead,” said the MP, who
pledged to visit all parts of the country to advocate for ginger farming. Ms
Malecela argued that the country would hardly achieve its industrial
development dream if there were no serious investments in the agricultural
sector.
“We can only move forward
with our industrialised drive by strongly investing in the agricultural sector
and ginger is one of the crops with a lot of potential as a domestic and export
commodity,” the former Same North
legislator said.
Ms Malecela averred that
maximizing the economic potential of ginger required a holistic approach that
would not only enhance production but also improve processing to attain
internationally acceptable standards. The MP vowed to visit Kaduna province to
find out how Nigeria has succeeded in ginger farming.
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