Category: Northern Report

It is one of the world’s greatest plants, some of it believed to be present in every single tablet taken by man.

This plant which has the potential of giving Kaduna State all the money it needs for development without recourse to the Federation Account, is today totally neglected like other area of agricultural production.

At the moment, the farmers in the state are producing about 500,000 tonnes of ginger whose production in the state is believed to have started in 1927. Even though the ginger produced in Kaduna is believed to be the best in the world, unfortunately, the farmers are benefiting little from the production. It is also believed that the government has not encouraged mass production of ginger in the state.

Investigations revealed that lab experiments presented at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer, by Dr Rebecca Lui and her colleagues from the University of Michigan, revealed that gingerols, the active phytonutrients in ginger, kill ovarian cancer cells by inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) and autophagocytosis (self-digestion). On the other hand, ginger extracts have been shown to have both antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects on cells.  Interestingly, Liu and her colleagues believe that ginger may be of special benefit for ovarian cancer patients because cancer cells exposed to ginger do not become resistant to its cancer-destroying effects. In the case of ovarian cancer, an ounce of prevention—in the delicious form of liberal use of ginger—is an especially good idea.

Ovarian cancer is often deadly since symptoms typically do not appear until late in the disease process, so by the time ovarian cancer is diagnosed, it has spread beyond the ovaries. More than 50%of women who develop ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease.

In addition, a research presented at the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, a major meeting of cancer experts which took place in Phoenix, USA in October 2003 revealed that gingerols, the main active components in ginger and the ones responsible for its distinctive flavour, may also inhibit the growth of human colorectal cancer cells. Similarly, ginger, according to research can not only be warming on a cold day, but can help promote healthy sweating, which is often helpful during colds and flus, while its anti -vomiting action has been shown to be very useful in reducing the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, even the most severe form known as hyperemesis gravidum, a condition which usually requires hospitalization. Studies have however shown that ginger root brought about a significant reduction in both the severity of nausea and number of attacks of vomiting in 19 of 27 women in early pregnancy (less than 20 weeks). Unlike anti- vomiting drugs, which can cause severe birth defects, ginger is extremely safe, and only a small dose is required.

The Nation investigation revealed that in the second republic, Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa as governor of the state conceived several industries spread across the state to tap the abundant resources. The Kachia Ginger factory was one of such industries. The company which was commissioned by the Gen. Tanko Ayuba government before handing over to civilian government in 1992 never commenced operation. Unconfirmed report have it that a Belgian company had agreed to invest in the plant in the year 2000. The investors were said to have taken the next available flight back when on arrival at the Kaduna Airport the day the Sharia crisis which threatened to tear the state apart was just beginning. The factory was expected to mopped up all the ginger produced in the area for processing. The planting season for ginger according to some farmers spoken to in Southern Kaduna usually begin in April, lasting till the end of May, while harvest usually begin from September ending around November. Even though there are a few large scale farmers of the produce in the state, the crop is mostly produced in Kachia, Kagarko and Jaba local government areas of the state.

James Kura Garba, a traditional title holder in Jaba land was once quoted as saying that one of the major problems with ginger farmers in the state is the fact that they hardly get any encouragement from government; no incentives and lack of the basic requirements for modern production of ginger. He said a ginger farmer needs to have fertiliser, herbicides, insecticides, in addition to tractors, the right pricing templates, etc. In spite of that, he said, “we still cultivate ginger. What I am saying is that we can produce on a major commercial scale if we get the right assistance. Right now, ginger farming is at its lowest because foreign entrepreneurs who see Ham ginger as the best in Africa, have stopped coming. This is because of the perceived insecurity in Northern Nigeria. The price has discouraged production. The current low patronage by major foreign buyers calls for serious concern. Many of the buyers entertain fears because of insecurity in the North. A bag of ginger used to sell for N18,000 two years ago. But today that same bag sells for between N4000 and N5000.  Imagine the difference. To the best of my knowledge, this is where I know that ginger is being produced in Nigeria commercially. Maybe it is the soil, or climate, culture or a combination of others things. But, it is only in Ham or Jaba land that you see real ginger farms. I understand that it is cultivated in other parts of Africa. I heard that research has placed our ginger as having very high quality compared to what is obtained in other parts of Africa. I once travelled to Melbourne, Australia, where ginger is produced. The way they produce their ginger is different from the way we farm here. There, they produce ginger by irrigation. So you can afford to have fresh ginger round the year. But, here we cannot afford to do that because we do not have small irrigational dams and related facilities for that kind of intensive farming”. He appealed to the government to help small scale farmers with dams in Southern Kaduna so that we can have the production of these viable crops round the year. We have hundreds of perennial streams just flowing away unutilised. If we have dams for irrigation, agricultural activities will get a big boost. Youths will be employed. It will lead to fishing, and even tourism. Southern Kaduna is much endowed with both human and natural resources, and the streams are just one of them. So, if government builds these dams, it will really boost economic activities here”.

At the moment, only Belfins, a local company owned by a retired Army General and located in Kafanchan is processing ginger in the state and possibly, in the country. Belfins cannot however buy up the large quantity of ginger produced in Southern Kaduna, thereby leaving the farmers at the mercy of people from outside the state who come to buy the produce in large quantity for export. General Yunana Nom who owns Belphins however believe that there is low production of the commodity in the state. He was quoted by a National daily newspaper as saying that “when there is a flood, it affects ginger farming, but also make the price of ginger attractive in some places. Once the prices are attractive, farmers will produce plenty the next season, and at the end of the cultivation, the price crashes again.”

But Adamu Marshal, Secretary of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) and a small scale farmer of ginger believe that with a good market, the people will be encouraged to engage in mass production of ginger. He told The Nation that “most farmers of ginger are doing so to train their children in school and once they are able to cultivate what they need to pay their children’s school fees, they feel contented. But if they know that there is somebody out there who will pay them good money, they will be willing to farm more. But as things are at the moment, you find out that someone will put in about N15,000 to farm ginger and what comes will not be enough for him to take care of himself and his family. It is really very discouraging”. Marshal said further that attempt was made to ensure good pricing for the commodity when some youths were encouraged to take their produce to Lagos by themselves. But along the line, they got discouraged. Today, most of those benefiting from the ginger we farm in Kaduna are from Kano and Lagos because they buy it and export”. An agricultural expert, Shedrack Madlion told The Nation that the Kaduna ginger has a combination of all the three qualities of ginger which makes it the best in the world. He however lamented that despite the huge benefit as an economic crop derivable from ginger, there is nothing being done to make it beneficial to the people and government.

When The Nation visited Kachia, already harvested ginger was seen in large quantity being prepared for shipment to Europe and America. It was gathered that one Sola was representing the company that bought the ginger that were being cleaned up and bagged ready for shipment. Although this reporter was directed to one of the men supervising the workers, he claimed that he was also a worker and not the Sola. He also refused to comment on the purchase and processing of the raw ginger for export on the pretext that speaking will be detrimental to them. Apart from the Kachia point where ginger were being cleaned up ready for shipment, it was gathered that those who are buying the ginger are spread across the nook and crannies of the villages in southern Kaduna to buy up the commodities directly from the farmers. It was also gathered that before now, ginger used to be sold at a central point known as the Wallijo ginger market. That market no longer exist and government both at the local and state level has done nothing to encourage the farmers of this commodity. Trucks were seen in large numbers leaving the bushes and villages with the commodity.