InFocus: Nigeria: From Dreams to Dust

InFocus: Nigeria: From Dreams to Dust
www.actionaid.org

Ginger Growers’
Dreams Turn
to Dust
Nigeria is the sixth largest exporter of
crude oil in the world.
When Kande Garba returned to her village in northern
Nigeria nine years ago, she expected to earn more
money growing ginger than her husband brought
home as a technician in a textile company.
After all, Katsit was known across the country for
ginger and the crop was in demand.
Similarly, John Umaru was not worried when he, too,
returned to the village after cutbacks by the Kaduna
state government. He was sure ginger farming would
bring in more income than he had received as a
primary school teacher.
“I was one of those who tried to visit the local
government and the ginger company in 2004”, recalls
the retired teacher. “We had an accident on the way.
One of us died. They didn’t even pay us a condolence
visit. Since then, nothing has happened.”
He says farmers tried to fix a price themselves but
the attempt collapsed: “People say they have to sell
at the price they are offered or they will have nothing
to eat.”
Garba agrees: “Only a few people here have other
ways of earning a living. Many of us can’t afford to dry
the ginger and hold it until we get a better price. So
people sell it to the middlemen at giveaway prices.”
They also find it hard to get to the nearest market, a
seven kilometre trek on a rough track. If they refuse
to sell at the middlemen’s price, they have to walk the
same distance back with their heavy load.
According to 39-year-old Joseph Bongo, who has
been growing ginger for 17 years, ginger farming is
hard labour, without modern tools, for little return.
At first, their projections looked right. Prices quickly
doubled, recalls Garba.
Then they plummeted. In 1998, Umaru’s first bag of
ginger sold for 4,000 Naira [about US$31]. Now, he
says, a bag fetches 1,500 - 1,800 Naira.
They blame the middlemen who buy the crop.
“They say there’s no money, so they buy it at their
price”, says Garba.
Individual farmers don’t deal directly with the gingerprocessing
plant about two
hours drive from the village
because they don’t produce
enough for factory use and
they lack information and
confidence.
A Ginger Farmers Association
was formed three years ago,
but an attempt to deal with
both the local government
and the ginger factory ended
in disaster.
“Many of us can’t
afford to dry the
ginger and hold it
until we get a better
price. So people sell it
to the middlemen
at giveaway prices.”
“I plant five hectares a year,” he says. “In all, I spend
about 120,000 Naira on labour and fertiliser. All I
make is 70,000 Naira.”
Umaru says he invests between 50,000 and 70,000
Naira a year on his farm and earns 70,000-80,000
Naira. That is without paying labourers: “My children
and the people living with us work on the farm with
me, so I’m able to reduce losses.”
His hands show the toll taken by the work. The years
of cutting and peeling ginger have turned them the
colour of chalk.
Most Katsit farmers are struggling:
few believe help will come from
their elected representatives.
“We have an elected councillor.
Since he was chosen he has not
helped us. In fact, he no longer
has any interest in this place,” says
Umaru, with a hint of contempt in
his voice.
Garba grins ruefully at the idea of
approaching their representatives.
She looks around, shrugs and
1

“People say they have
to sell at the price
they are offered
or they will have
nothing to eat.”
says resignedly, “Well, I don’t know if they can do
anything.”
Poverty and Hunger in Nigeria
Nigeria’s poverty level was 54 per cent in 2004,
according to the National Bureau of Statistics. For
people in the agriculture sector, it was 67 per cent.
About 25 per cent of Nigerian under-5s are under
weight.
Specific demands linked to the case
study:
• The Zongwa local government and Kaduna
state governments should assist with
modern farming equipment
• The Kaduna State government should
set up a farm produce board to serve as
intermediary between the ginger farmers
and the end-users
• The state government should prioritise road
repairs to improve market access.
• The state government should ensure
provision of social infrastructure in the village
and treat it as a rights issue.
General HungerFREE campaign
demand in Nigeria: The federal
government of Nigeria should:
• Allocate more resources to research
institutions to increase the yields and
nutritional qualities of local food crops
• Legislate to remove all constraints on
women owning farmland
• Reduce constraints on social services
expenditure imposed by international
financial institutions, including all economic
partnership agreements (EPAs) undermining
the capacity of Nigerian farmers to earn a
fair price
• Strengthen anti-corruption legislation
• Reduce expenditure on arms to allow
increased spending on social services,
including delivery of free universal basic
education
• Put up legal barriers to stop government
agencies destroying of the homes of the
poor
• Allocate more resources to local
governments to scale up the implementation
of the school health and nutrition
programme, to ensure that every child has
access to free and compulsory universal
basic education
• Make a commitment to a HungerFREE
Nigeria.
For more information and high-resolution copies
of photographs, please contact Alexandre Polack:
alexandre.polack@actionaid.org
Cover Photo: Portrait of John Umaru, Nigerian ginger farmer. Credit:
Tunde Aremu
2