Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state has called on onion farmers in the country to rise to the current challenges and balance their production output of 1.5 million metric tonnes to meet the national requirement of 2.5 metric tonnes.
Ganduje made the call in a speech at the 4th Regional Onion Conference and Annual General Meeting held in Kano on Wednesday.
Read also: Police Arrested 35 Over Kidnapping, Robbery In Kano
The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Nasiru Gawuna expressed hope that the conference would derive methods by which onion production will be expanded through devising preservation, processing and proper marketing methods.
However, the 2-day conference with the theme: The Onion Sector in The Era Of The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) And The Covid -19 Pandemi, Challenges And Opportunities, draws participants from the West and Central African subregions.
“We have discussed severally with the national president on this, and I want this conference to discus towards that and please provide us with your resolutions, communiques for proper implementation in the state governments and the federal level, and we are ready to asses and facilitate what will bring about enhancement in all aspects of onion production, and so the intervention of the CBN will be facilitated for the onion farmers so that you will enjoy it as soon as possible” Ganduje stated.
Earlier, the National President of the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN) Malam Aliyu Maitasamu Isa called on the government to extend the Anchor Borrow program of the CBN to the sector.
Read also: Foreign Scholarship: Gov. Yusuf Meets Kano Students In India
Maitasamu Isa lamented over the neglect of the onion sector even as it faces massive post harvest losses..
According to him, “a lot of associations and producers of various agricultural crops have enjoyed facilities by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the popular anchor borrower program, but the onion producers, processors or marketers in the onion sector have not enjoyed this.
