Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, has called for the formation of a National Moringa Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria for the purposes of ensuring that moringa is developed into a commercial commodity.
Speaking while playing host to one of the various moringa associations, Moringa Development Association of Nigeria in his office on Thursday, he said no stone would be left unturned in ensuring value addition to Moringa to enhance its pricing and value.
“The formation and development of National Moringa Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria will no doubt, open investment opportunities in the areas of production, processing and marketing aspect of the commodity as well as assist in achieving Goal number 12 of the SDG on responsible consumption and production, taking cognisance of many uses that Moringa serves.
“I am aware that there are various Moringa stakeholders groups in existence but none of them is qualified to be referred to as national Moringa association because there can’t be many national associations on Moringa.
“It is our firm belief that all the splinter Moringa groups will soon fuse into one big and indivisible Moringa association,” he said.
He noted that the ministry had received letters from different stakeholders requesting for collaborations and support for the formation and setting up of National Moringa Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, which informed the maiden meeting of the value chain stakeholders on September 2, this year.
He explained that the meeting afforded the government the opportunity of identifying the stakeholders and also discuss the modalities for the formation of the National Moringa Association of Nigeria.
“I wish to add that the formation of National Moringa Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria will enable government to assist and support the association in contributing to employment generation and wealth creation, especially for women and our unemployed youths `
“I urge you to join hands with other stakeholders to develop the commodity into viable economic product. The global Moringa market is estimated at more than US$8.0 billion which is expected to increase to US$20 billion by 2030,” he added.
President of MDAN, Yohanna Kadashi, called for a collaboration and partnership with the ministry in the development and promotion of Moringa value chain and regular training for Moringa farmers in the country.
