By GARBA MUHAMMAD, Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government is planning to attract $3billion global ginger market to the state.

This is part of the proposed Ginger Investment Policy and Strategy Implementation to enhance commercialization in the ginger value chain by the state.

Ginger is being grown in the Southern part of Kaduna state since about 1927 and it has steadily increased in importance as a valuable commodity.

The proposal is meant to develop and reap the potentials of ginger farming and its value chain with the aim of creating jobs, generating revenue and alleviating poverty by empowering its farmers.

The Executive Secretary of Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), Malam Khalil Nur Khalil, was quoted in an interview as describing ginger as a potential money spinner for the state when the proposed policy is implemented.

According to him, the state ranks first in ginger production in Nigeria. It is cultivated in Kachia, Jaba, Kagarko and Jema’a local government areas in Kaduna state.

“In spite of the several interventions by the government and Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs), ginger production is presently carried out by small scale operators who cultivated less than half a hectare per year,’’ he said.

“The very first shipment of ginger for export went out from a village in Southern Kaduna called Gantan in 1928/29. So, by 1966, Nigeria was recorded to have become the second largest world exporter of ginger after China.

“Prior to the creation of present states, ginger had contributed about 19 per cent of the total GDP of Northern Nigeria,” he added.