ibironkeeniola 
Members of the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN) have been advised to desist from practices which may dampen the commercial value of their products in the local and international market.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of NGAN, Mr. Haruna Azeez gave the advice after the association’s election of Executive Committee in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area, Kaduna State.
Azeez expressed concerns over farmers’ engagement in some practices such as lack of proper cleaning and treatment, stuffing sand and mud in sacks of ginger, by some farmers to increase the weight. According to him, these practices have led to low income on the commodity.
He said, “If we must maximize the potential value in ginger farming, there is a need to observe best practices, void of cutting corners.”
The Chairman-elect of NGAN, Mr. Nyam Yusuf assured the association of running an all-inclusive administration, while also recognizing the role of middlemen in ginger production.
Yusuf said the middlemen must key into the ginger growers and value chain addition by properly disseminating genuine information about the prices to farmers, to avoid being cheated.
He said a register of all ginger associations would be complied to enable proper interaction with them and establish methods to increase their outputs.
SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA