The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) said it had discovered a lucrative market in spices and herbs and had begun training women in the business for economic sustainability.
Mrs Victoria Williams-Dada, Kaduna State Coordinator, NDE made this known during an interview with Newsmen on Tuesday in Kaduna.
She said the one week training programme, under the Women Employment Branch (WEB) unit of the directorate, had 50 women participants, and commenced March 7.
“This year, the global spices and herbs market is estimated at about 79 billion US dollars.
“The Nigerian spice market alone was valued at about USD15.11billion in 2017, and is expected to reach approximately USD 20.99billion by 2024.
“Nigeria is one of the highest producers of herbs and spices, yet one of the lowest when it comes to realizing its value and harnessing its potentials in the value chain,” she said.
Williams-Dada said that the training would expose women to spices and seasoning processing, as well as the value chains to giving them opportunity to be employers of labour.
She thanked Malam Abubakar Nuhu-Fikpo, the NDE Director General, for his support and cooperation, and for giving women the opportunity to undergo the training.
“To be skillful is to be empowered; your skill will enable you to stand before great people, and you will be famous” she said.