60,000 Farmers Empowered to Boost Ginger Production in Nigeria through the Agrolog and Mastercard Foundation Partnership

Lagos, Nigeria –  Wednesday, August 25, 2021 – Agrolog General Services Limited in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation will support 60,000 smallholder farmers in vulnerable indigenous ginger farming communities in Kaduna State. The partnership will provide immediate materials, capacity, and structural support to boost ginger production and increase work opportunities for young people and adults in Nigeria.

Agrolog has been investing in the development of the ginger value chain since 2018.

The Managing Director of Agrolog Limited, Dr. Manzo Maigari, explained that in addition to improving yields of ginger from 18 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha) to 25MT/ha, the intervention will also create 60,000 on and off the farm jobs that will benefit the farmers and their communities by providing economic recovery, growth, and social stability.

According to Dr. Maigari, only smallholder farmers that belong to existing organized cooperatives within these local government areas can participate in the initiative. Farmers who are selected will receive support ranging from training to farming implements that they can immediately use on their farms to cultivate ginger and food crops.

Women farmers at Kagarko Local Government Area, Kaduna State sorting out straws for mulching Ginger.

“The ginger value chain, if well harnessed can transform livelihoods. Ginger products such as ginger spices, powder, oil, medicine, tea, and tonic confectioneries hold massive opportunities for smallholder farmers, young people, and women across the entire value chain. From planting, harvesting, cleaning, cutting, processing, bagging, storage, and sales, this initiative offers a ray of hope to thousands of families in their local communities who have been further paralyzed by the pandemic. Now, they will be able to rely on a steady and sustainable income stream through ginger farming and processing,” Dr. Maigarisaid.

The partnership unlocks a multitude of benefits to farmers and the farming community, including mechanization, training and capacity building, farm mapping, standardization of measures, increased yields, improved processing, access to organized markets, and financial inclusion.

A participant in the initiative, Kakuta Irimiah, lauded the partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Agrolog saying that the fertilizers and farm inputs they provided have helped to expand her business.

“The Agrolog fertilizer I received helped me to produce more bags of ginger. I used to produce 30 bags per hectare and now I produce between 50 to 100 bags. I have also received training on how to apply the fertilizers and how to construct drainages to prevent my farm from being washed away by erosion. Before this time, the colour of my produce was yellowish but now, it is greenish which is a sign of healthy and quality produce,” she said.

“Our partnership with Agrolog is poised to drive immense production of ginger and create work opportunities for youth across the ginger value chain. It also will alleviate the impending threat

to food security and livelihoods, which has worsened with the ongoing pandemic,” said Chidinma Lawanson, Country Head, at the Mastercard Foundation.

The intervention is being supported through the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program, which is targeted at offering timely support to mitigate the impending economic crises among the vulnerable indigenous communities. The intervention is also aimed at averting further disruptions to the ginger supply chain because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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About Agrolog Limited

Agrolog Limited is a newly established agribusiness company specialized in the production and trade of agricultural commodities, agro logistics, various agricultural investments and farm management. The company seeks to entrench a culture of operational excellence that guarantees transparency from farm to table. Agrolog has contrived partnerships through Innovation Platforms (IPs) that bring farmers and investors together enabling ecosystems that allow for collaborations that build farmers capacities, provision of quality inputs and standardization of practices that ensure high productivity and quality outputs.

About the Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management.

For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org

About  the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program

The Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program has two main goals. First, to  deliver  emergency  support  for  health   workers,   first   responders,   and students. Second, to strengthen the diverse institutions that are the first line of defense against the social and economic aftermath of this disease. These include universities, financial services providers, businesses, technology start-ups, incubators, government agencies, youth organizations, and non-governmental organizations.

For more on the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program, please visite www.mastercardfdn.org/covid19-recovery-resilience-program/

Follow the Foundation on Twitter at @MastercardFdn

Media Enquiries:

Raphael Isah (Technology and Strategic Communications Consultant) 0803 535 6090
mr.ralph01@gmail.com
www.agrolog.farm

Nonye Mpho Omotola
Mastercard Foundation
Country Lead, Program Communications, Nigeria
nomotola@mastercardfdn.org