The Ginger Farmers Association of Nigeria has disclosed that a lot of their members who collected loans for the farming season were now dying of shock in seven states.
Speaking at the National Assembly when the association led a delegation to thank the Senate and Senator Sunday Marshall Katung for sponsoring a motion on the ginger disease that affecting farmers, the National President, Squadron leader Nuhu Bagari Audu, said even though they lost over N10 billion to the ginger disease in Kaduna state alone, N5 billion has been lost in additional six states.
Audu mentioned the states affected by the ginger disease crisis as Kaduna, Benue, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kano and Akwa Ibom.
“We are at the Senate to thank the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Sen Sunday Marshall Katung and all the 109 Senators for considering our plight through a motion sponsored by the Kaduna South Senator.
“Since the pandemic engulfed our ginger farms in Southern Kaduna and six other states, our members that collected loans for the farming season are now dying of shock.
“The downtrodden and the peasant farmers that are alive are thanking God for remembering us through the Senate. We also want to add that all relevant organizations should follow on the path of the senate because this colossal lost, apart from affecting our country, is shaking our GDP. Our export value will drop because of this disease.
“As the national president of the ginger farmers, there are other states that are suffering. Most of the famers abandoned farming other farm products for ginger. Some took loans. With this disease, where are they going to start?
“Some of them who collected loans to farm ginger are dead because of the shock,” Audu said, adding that they were yet to know the real cause of the disease but have also reported to various research institutes who took samples.
