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.
Edwards, who made the statement in Abuja on Tuesday, 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, lots of dust and dirty things go into it which makes it not to meet international standards,’’ she said.
Edwards said 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 demonstration farming of ginger in all states in the southern part of the country to create awareness that it could grow in all parts of Nigeria.
Edwards said that the association had planted ginger in Okada in Edo and the production was great.
“We are trying to encourage ginger farmers to go into commercial farming not just farming for personal use,” she said.
Edwards said that Nigeria was the third largest ginger producing country in the world after China and India but stressed that Nigeria had the spiciest ginger in the world.
Edwards said the association had put in place strategies to create awareness on the benefits of ginger, including its use in medicine and food.
She said ginger could be used to relieve digestive problems, such as nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness and pain.
Edwards said ginger root or underground stem could be consumed fresh, processed in powder form, dried or prepared as a spice in oil or juice form.
Edwards said the association would need funds to encourage the youth to farm ginger because seeds, fertiliser, and tools would be provided for them.
She said the Nigerian Export Promotion Council had done a lot for the association, especially on how to improve ginger exportation.
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