Kwara set to promote Moringa farming

Against the backdrop of its medicinal and economic potentials, the Kwara State Government has indicated its interest in the promotion of Moringa farming in the state.
The state Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, made this known in Ilorin, the state capital, on Monday in a message to the conference of Moringa Development Association holding in the state.
According to Ahmed, the state will not only encourage the youths of the state to be groomed at its Youth Farm Centre in Malete, Moro Local Government Area, to go into large scale Moringa farming, but work out a system that will ensure availability of prepared farmland with irrigation system to enhance Moringa and other farming activities in the state.
Ahmed said his administration’s interest in the promotion of Moringa farming was because of its huge medicinal and economic potentials.
“Government shall nurture Moringa development with priority because we realise its wealth creation potential which can serve as viable source of internally generated revenue from 2013,” he added.
The governor called on Moringa farmers to take advantage of the three Agriculture Malls that the government was establishing across the three senatorial districts, which would be one-stop shops “for equipment, farm inputs, soft loans and excessive services.”
Ahmed underscored Moringa’s potentials in boosting economic activities through processing, storage, marketing, haulage and sales.
He recalled that alternative medicine market, including Moringa, had a N25 billion value in Europe in 2011.
The governor therefore advised the Moringa Development Association to embark on more vigorous scientific research into the benefits of Moringa in order to enhance its acceptance and economic viability.