The Federal Government has pledged to support onion farmers to boost their production, for domestic and export purposes.
The pledge was made by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammad Abubakar.
Abubakar pledged at the 4th Regional Onion Annual Conference and General Meeting held in Kano.
The Minister of Agriculture, represented by the Ministry’s Kano State Coordinator, Abba Gana-Yamani, said onion has many health benefits, and Nigeria produces about two million metric tonnes, which are not enough to cater for the growing population.
He expressed the Federal Government’s readiness to support onion farmers.
The governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, represented by his deputy, Nasiru Gawuna, called on local and foreign investors to establish small, medium and large-scale onion processing plants, to boost production and deepen industrialisation.
The President of the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Aliyu Isa, called for efforts to boost productivity per hectare.
The event was attended by onion producers, processors and other stakeholders across Africa.