Abuja: An NGO, EarthSprings Global Grace Empowerment Initiative (ESGGEI), has identified integrated agriculture, healthcare, and improved security as key drivers of food security and sustainable rural development. The NGO made this submission during an Integrated Agriculture and Medical Outreach organized for residents of Guruku Gbagyi Community in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, in collaboration with the National Ginger Association of Nigeria (NGAN).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, ESGGEI’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Pearl Chukwuka, stated that the initiative was organized to commemorate her birthday by positively impacting lives through healthcare services and agricultural empowerment. She emphasized that healthy farmers are more productive, highlighting healthcare as an essential component of food production and national food security, especially in rural communities lacking adequate medical services.
Chukwuka also mentioned the collaboration with NGAN to expose farmers to the economic opportunities in ginger cultivation due to its growing local and international demand. Empowering youths and women through profitable agriculture, she noted, would reduce unemployment, discourage criminality, and improve livelihoods, thus contributing to safer and more prosperous farming communities. She urged the government to strengthen security in farming communities to enable farmers to access their farmlands without fear, warning that insecurity remained a major threat to national food production.
The National President of NGAN, retired Sqn.-Ldr Nuhu Daudu, described Nigerian ginger as one of the country’s most valuable agricultural exports with strong acceptance in international markets. He revealed that Kaduna State currently accounts for about 80 percent of Nigeria’s ginger production, and the association is expanding cultivation to other states through partnerships and improved farming practices.
Daudu highlighted the promotion of irrigation farming and efforts to tackle ginger blight disease to increase production and sustain Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global ginger market. He attributed rising insecurity partly to youth unemployment, suggesting that meaningful engagement in profitable agriculture would deny criminal groups opportunities to recruit idle young people. He also called for government support in strengthening security agencies with modern technology and adequate logistics to tackle criminal activities threatening farming communities.
A member of the association’s Board of Trustees, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammad, described ginger as a strategic cash crop with significant potential for the pharmaceutical, food processing, and medicinal industries. Muhammad emphasized promoting peaceful coexistence between farmers, herders, and host communities while encouraging youths to embrace agriculture as a sustainable livelihood. He stated that increased youth participation in agriculture would reduce unemployment, create more jobs across the value chain, and ultimately lower crime in rural communities.
Community leader Chief Jizhi James commended the organizers for combining agricultural education with free healthcare services, addressing critical needs of the farming community. James acknowledged improved security through security agencies and local vigilantes but called for sustained government support to strengthen peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders. He expressed optimism that initiatives integrating agriculture, healthcare, and community engagement would improve food security, strengthen rural livelihoods, and promote lasting peace in farming communities.
The outreach featured free medical consultations, health screening, agricultural extension services, and sensitization on ginger cultivation to improve farmers’ productivity, incomes, and overall well-being in the agrarian community.