GHANA – Ginger farmers in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region have recorded multiple losses as an unidentified disease suspected to be a fungal infection invades their farms.
According to the Assemblyman for Butabe and Obuase Electoral Area, Mutakilu Tsadenu, who took the reporter to some of the affected farms, said that over 100 acres of farms have been destroyed by the strange disease.
Among the heavily affected farms include the Poase-Cement, Obuase and Butabe areas of the district.
The disease, as described by residents in the affected region, manifests by causing the ginger plants to turn yellowish and destroys the rhizome, getting the seed rotten.
According to one farmer, Yakubu Muniru, who has planted a four-acre ginger farm, this is the first time they have witnessed such a strange disease in the area.
He said he had invested 30 thousand cedis (USD 2,532) into the ginger farm during the season, in anticipation of a good harvest, but all the investment has gone down the drain.
Onother farmer who cultivates a three-acre ginger farm, Aliu Salisu, told Ghana’s local news agency that he had lost his investment from selling his taxicab and venturing into ginger farming which was then destroyed by the fungal infection.
“I call on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to find a lasting solution to the problem, since the youth of the area depend on ginger farms for survival,” expressed Salisu.
The Kadjebi District Director of Department of Food and Agriculture, Besa Akpalu, said the department is aware of the infection and has sent samples of the affected plants to the Pokuase Agricultural Research Centre for investigation.
Ginger production in the country has had a gradual upward trend. In 2021, for instance, its production reached 94.7 tons in 2021 which was 0.233% more than in the previous year, revealed Faostat.
Additionally, according to a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com, the global ginger market is quite favorable and is expected to reach USD 8.46 Billion by the end of 2027, growing with a CAGR of 3.13% from 2021 to 2027.
The report also states that the Asia Pacific dominates the global ginger market due to moist and tropical countries such as India, China, and Indonesia in this region.
The acceptance of ginger in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries further boosts the ginger market, making it the most exported and imported spice worldwide.
In the report, abiotic factors such as shortage of rainfall, soil type, and improper usage of manures can affect the growth, development, and productivity of ginger.
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