Stakeholders in the agriculture sector say they are committed to scaling up 2025 agriculture budget and ensure necessary provisions are captured in the allocations.
The stakeholders made the commitment at the ongoing National Stakeholders Consultative meeting on 2025 agriculture budget on Wednesday in Lagos.
The stakeholders at the meeting are state ministries of agriculture, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMFS), Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, ActionAid Nigeria, Oxfam, GIZ, Community of Agriculture Non-State Actors (COANSA), ECOWAS Commission, among others
Mrs Elizabeth Egharevba, Director, Economic Growth Department, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, said the annual event was to assist the country to achieve the Malabo declaration that 10 per cent of its annual budget be appropriated to agriculture sector.
Egharevba, represented by Mr Olaitan Fatai, Deputy Director in the ministry, said that the meeting was strategic by bringing together relevant stakeholders to contribute their inputs into the 2025 agricultural budget.
She identified the forum as a milestone in the country’s efforts at ensuring that it achieve the Malabo declaration and proffer solutions to the country’s food insecurity.
She said that the resultant effect was to reduce food importation, pressure on external reserve and much needed hard earned FOREX that would be channeled to other vital developmental need.
“This platform facilitates more inputs into the 2025 agriculture budget by creating ownership, linking and integrating programmes that will help Nigeria not only to achieve food security but lead to attain other deliverables.
“I am confident that we are embarking on a landmark journey that will make us tackle food insecurity and enhance synergy between agencies in the agriculture sector.’’
Egharevba said the forum had made significant impact in improving the budget of the agriculture since its inception in 2016.
The director said agriculture budget had risen to six per cent as against 1.3 per cent in 2016.
“The appropriation to agriculture at federal level had been increasing steadily although yet to achieve 10 per cent of the total national budget in line with the Malabo declaration.’’
Egharevba said that government had devoted more resources to agriculture in the 2025 budget through the development of the Cassava Bio-ethanol value chain project with a PPP arrangement.
According to her, the project is designed to be implemented in the six geopolitical zones to ensure the development of the entire cassava value chain.
Mr Ibrahim Tanimu, Director, Planning and Policy Coordination in the ministry, said the sector needed diversification through the use of innovation and technology to enhance agricultural production and ensure food and nutrition security.
Tanimu said the ministry at the moment was collaborating with Ministry of Science and Technology for the production of fabricated implement that could assist farmers to increase productivity.
“We need mechanisation not heavy machines but smaller fabricated machine that we can produce locally using our own initiative.
“We are collaborating with the Ministry of Science and Technology on the production of smaller implements that can assist our farmers at affordable price,’’ he said.
Mr Azubike Nwokoye, Food and Agriculture Programme Manager, ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), identified the meeting’s objectives as to leverage understanding on the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP).
Nwokoye said it was also to leverage understanding on the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) and its connection to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) targets.
“The meeting seeks to strengthen citizens’ participation towards making 2025 agriculture budget responsive to food systems transformation and wealth creation.
“To support effective biennial reporting by Nigeria to the African Union Heads of States and Government in line with the Malabo Declaration and Commitments of 2014,”he said.