Nigeria’s ginger industry is facing an uncertain future as production volumes collapse and market prices skyrocket, threatening both domestic supply and export competitiveness.

Analysts note that since 2022, when the nation achieved a peak production of 927,041 metric tonnes(MT), output has sharply declined. In 2019, production stood at an impressive 691,239 metric tonnes, rising to 726,000 MT in 2021 and hitting a high of 834,600 MT in 2017. But that progress was wiped out in 2023 when a devastating fungal blight ravaged ginger fields, reducing annual output to just 420,000 MT — the lowest level in two decades.

Data from the Journal of Agripreneurship and Sustainable Development showed that ginger production has been highly volatile, with output fluctuating between a minimum of 420,000 MT and a maximum of 927,041 MT.

Prices have also spiked, with the all-time minimum recorded at N145 per kilogramme and the maximum at N690.50 per kilogramme. The study revealed significant variability, with a standard deviation of 263,319 MT in production and N183.25/kg in price.

The report divided Nigeria’s ginger production divided into three phases. The first, from 2000 to 2006, saw large cultivation areas averaging 169,857 hectares—about 51.3 percent of global total—but with poor yields of 6,186 MT/ha. The second phase, from 2007 to 2014, recorded better yields of 21,017 MT/ha from 2007–2010, although the cultivated area shrank to 52,256 hectares (20.5 percent of the global total).

A temporary spike came in 2011, when yields rose to 54,085 MT/ha, before reverting to earlier levels. The third phase, from 2015 onward, marked more sustainable improvements, with yields climbing to 82,138 MT/ha by 2019, while cultivated land stabilized at 80,104 hectares, or 21.8 percent of global total.


Despite these gains, analysts noted that the sector’s growth has been undermined by disease, high production costs, and unstable markets.

According to Statista, Nigeria produced about 726,000 MT of ginger in 2021, compared to 734,000 MT in 2020. By 2023, production fell again to 781,000 MT amid the blight crisis, with further declines feared this year. In major markets across Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, and the Federal Capital Territory, prices have surged beyond the reach of many buyers. A measure (mudu) of ginger, which once sold for less than ₦1,000, now costs ₦12,500. Small plates of ginger that previously went for ₦100 and ₦500 are now selling for ₦1,000 and ₦2,000, respectively.

The Federal Government has acknowledged the crisis.

Last year, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sabi Abdullahi, inaugurated a national committee to combat the fungal disease devastating ginger cultivation, particularly in Kaduna, where farmers have lost over ₦20 billion.

Abdullahi stressed that the ginger industry could potentially contribute $ 6.29 billion to the economy by 2030, up from $ 4.16 billion in 2023, but only if urgent measures are taken.

Government interventions, however, have been criticised as inadequate. Although ₦1 billion was released as a recovery fund and an additional ₦1.6 billion announced for affected farmers, stakeholders insist that the support has failed to reach those in need. The National President , Ginger Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Florence Edwards, told The Nation that her members have been sidelined. “Despite reports of billions released, none of our members in Kaduna and Niger states has received support,” she said, adding that the association has resorted to laboratory-based seed multiplication to secure disease-free planting material.

Experts argue that rebuilding the sector requires private sector leadership. Lead Consultant at Soilless Farm, Samson Ogbole, emphasised the urgent need for locally run tissue culture labs to clean and multiply quality ginger seeds.

He suggested a “buy-back” model, similar to cassava programs, where markets provide farmers with clean rhizomes and then repurchase harvests, creating a sustainable value chain.

Supporting this view, Senior Associate Consultant at Futux Agri-consult Ltd, Oyewole Okewole, revealed that his organisation is implementing the CBI-CSR Nigeria Ginger Programme, which aims to transition to a sustainable and high-quality ginger sector by this year.

He added its partnership with Heifer International is already helping farmers diversify into crops such as tomato to boost income generation.