On a four-hectare plot in Kurumi Musa, Kaduna State, Istifanus Dauda remembers the years of hardship. His family had always farmed ginger, yet after trekking hours to sell at Kachia market, they barely made ₦40,000 — about $30 — for an entire harvest. Feeding his seven children was a struggle, school fees were out of reach, and sometimes they ate just once a day.
Everything changed four years ago when Horizon Group Africa stepped in. The Kaduna-based agribusiness offered to buy all the ginger Dauda could produce at premium prices. With a guaranteed market, he expanded his farm, hired 12 labourers, and harvested 50 bags of organic ginger. His earnings jumped to over $1,000 — more than 30 times what he used to make.
Dauda’s story is not unique. Horizon, working with over 3,000 farmers, is redefining Nigeria’s spice industry. With fresh investment from Aavishkaar Capital’s $250m Global Supply Chain Support Fund, the company plans to triple its farmer outreach, upgrade processing plants, and expand exports to Europe, Asia, and the US. This model proves that African farmers can move beyond survival to global competitiveness.
Nigeria is already the world’s second-largest ginger producer, contributing 16% of global supply. Yet, most of its revenue is lost because raw ginger fetches little value. Where Nigeria excels is in processed ginger, leading the world in exports of crushed and ground spice. Horizon’s focus on value-added processing is positioning African farmers to capture a bigger slice of the $40bn global spice trade.
Farmers are already feeling the impact. In Kaduna, Handan Haruna says yields have jumped from 500 to 800 bags per hectare, while his six children now attend school. Gabriel Bako, who once farmed at a loss, now produces 50 bags per season and can hire help. For Blessing Mustafa, scholarships from Horizon mean her children will grow up with opportunities she never had. Patrick Peter has expanded to three hectares, employing 20 youths.
The ripple effects are powerful. Household incomes have tripled, communities are benefiting from schools, clinics, and soil health programmes, and farmers are reinvesting locally. What once felt like subsistence farming is now a dignified business model with global demand.
Backed by global partners like KfW and JICA, Horizon is targeting $100m in revenues within three years. For Dauda and thousands like him, this is more than just profit — it is resilience, hope, and a chance to stand tall in the world spice market.
As Aavishkaar’s Darren Lobo put it: “Farmers in the Horizon network are not merely surviving; they are building resilience, creating jobs, and competing globally.”
