Agency assesses fungal attack on ginger farms in Kaduna State

Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have visited ginger farms ravaged by a strange fungi to ascertain the damage in Kaduna State.

Southern Kaduna is one of the largest producers of ginger in the world.

The NEMA team led by Hajiya Aisha Yakubu of the Relief and Rehabilitation in Kaduna office, said the visit was to carry out an assessment on the level of damage and make recommendations for possible interventions.

Yakubu said that they could not immediately inspect all the affected farms because the number, adding that the ones visited would serve as specimen to cover the entire zone.

She sympathized with the farmers over the unfortunate incident and pledged the agency’s resolve to continue to provide relief and succour to those in need.

Some of the farmers called on NEMA to expedite the process of providing seedlings and relief materials to thousands of farmers in the area.

The farmers expressed their willingness to commence dry season irrigation farming of ginger to recover fast from the setback occasioned by the fungal attack this year.

In Kachia Local Government Area, one of the large scale farmers, Suleiman Abubakar, appreciated the NEMA team for visiting to see the level of damage and expressed hoped that relief would come soon.

Also speaking, Mr Edward Auta, a farmer, thanked Sen. Sunday Katung (PDP-Kaduna South) for raising the issue on the floor of the senate, which prompted the NEMA’s visit to the area.

Auta said that most of the farmers were facing litigations while some had died as a result of the huge loss they suffered.

Earlier, while receiving the NEMA team in Kafanchan, Katung commended the agency for responding to the need to provide relief to farmers in his constituency who depend largely on ginger farming to survive.

Represented by Wilson Iliya, a Senior Legislative Aide, Katung thanked his colleagues at the National Assembly for supporting his motion on the fungal attack.

He pledged to continue to put the collective interest of his people above all other considerations.

NEMA team visited ginger farmlands in Kachia, Zango Kataf, Jema’a, Jaba, Kagarko and Kaura Local Government Areas.

NAN / Foluke Ibitomi