NIGERIA – Nigeria’s ginger farmers faced a devastating blow in 2023, with losses totaling N12 billion (USD 7.57 million) due to a severe crop disease outbreak, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
During a recent “train the trainer” workshop on Agricultural Insurance held in Abuja, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, addressed the significant financial losses incurred by ginger farmers in Nigeria.
The minister highlighted the impact of the ginger blight disease, which ravaged crops during the 2023 wet farming season, particularly affecting farmers in Kaduna.
Mr. Abdullahi revealed that over 90 percent of the total ginger harvest was destroyed, leaving farmers in dire straits. “Only a few of those ginger farmers who took our insurance protection received monetary compensation for their harvest losses,” he said.
These insured farmers were able to return to their farms with some financial support, unlike their uninsured counterparts, who had to rely on their limited savings to continue farming.
The minister emphasized the importance of agricultural insurance, noting that without it, farmers are at risk of losing their livelihoods after just one or two bad harvest seasons.
“That is some food for thought and something that we all have to bear in mind; as we are at all times one or two bad harvest seasons away from losing our food supplies,” Mr. Abdullahi added.
The minister also addressed the 2024 flood outlook, which presents a significant concern for the nation’s agricultural sector.
The Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has identified 148 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 31 states as high flood-risk areas. Additionally, 249 LGAs in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) fall within moderate flood-risk zones.
“In simple terms, 397 LGAs out of the total 774 LGAs in Nigeria, representing over 51 percent of our farming areas, are at risk of flooding,” Mr. Abdullahi said. He pointed out the clear and present threats posed by climate change to Nigeria’s food systems.
In response to these challenges, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is planning to collaborate with the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) and PULA Advisors.
The goal is to integrate agricultural insurance into the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) programme. Mr. Abdullahi stressed the need to incorporate insurance as a key component of the NAGS programme to ensure sustainability and food security in the face of climate change.
The NAGS-AP programme, which began in the 2023 dry season with wheat cultivation, has already shown promising results, leading to a successful harvest.
The government aims to build on this success by expanding the programme and ensuring that more farmers have access to agricultural insurance.
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