Dr Florence Edwards, the President of Ginger Growers and Marketers Association, has said that the greatest challenge facing the association is the lack of processing plants to make the product meet international standards, Today News reports.


Edwards, who made the statement in Abuja, pointed out that the only processing plant in Kaduna State was not functional.

“We need to have processing plants to be able to dry ginger rather than spreading it by the roadside which is not healthy. When ginger is dried by the roadside, dusts go into it which makes it not to meet international standards,’’ she said.

Edwards quipped that ginger could be cultivated anywhere in the country against the belief that it could only grow in the north.

She said the association was carrying out farm demonstrations of ginger in all states in the southern part of the country to create awareness that it could grow in all parts of Nigeria. However, the association had put in place strategies to create awareness on the benefits of ginger, including its use in medicine and food.

Edwards also noted that the association is trying to encourage ginger farmers to go into commercial farming instead of subsistence farming.

“Nigeria is the third largest ginger producing country in the world after China and India but has the spiciest ginger in the world. ”

Edwards said the association would need funds to encourage the youth to go into ginger production because seeds, fertiliser, and tools would be provided for them.

She noted that the Nigerian Export Promotion Council had done a lot for the association, especially on how to improve ginger exportation.