Ginger: Togo has great, yet undertapped, potential
Wednesday, 03 April 2024 17:22 
(Togo First) - Togo produced around 64,000 tons of ginger per year on average in the past few years. According to the Ministry of Agriculture which disclosed the figure, most of the output comes from the Plateaux and Centrale regions, with an average yield of 10 to 20 tons per hectare of fresh rhizomes. In total, nearly 10,000 agricultural households are involved in its cultivation, mainly in these two regions (which respectively account for 66.39% and 20.36% of the total workforce).
Among the many partners that support the industry are the German cooperation and the MIFA. Several projects, such as the Kara Agropole, were set up to bolster the sector, and they helped push the total cultivated area from 930 hectares in 2021 to 1,218 hectares in 2023.
Despite this expansion, the size of the farms remains modest, with most farmers operating less than 0.25 hectares. In comparison, the number of large producers is estimated at around 250 across the entire territory. Such a situation impacts overall productivity and highlights the sector's potential for improvement.
In 2019, Togo exported a little over two tons (2,029 kg) of ginger, mostly to the European Union, the US, and Japan. These exports represented less than 1% of the global market. Meanwhile, the West African nation imported 197.6 t of ginger that same year.
Last February, an investment strategy for the sector was approved. Drawn by the Ministry of Agriculture, the strategy aims to better structure the sector and allow stakeholders to readily access lucrative markets. Ultimately, the goal is to ramp up the country’s output to 150,000 tons by 2028, with at least 75% of this volume processed.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
