FG, state govts allocate less than 5% to agric

Allocations by federal and state governments to agriculture in 2021 have fallen below five per cent, less than halfway into the bottom line agreed to at the Maputo and Malabo declarations, signed by the Federal Government in 2003 and 2014.

The extant declarations recommend a minimum of 10 per cent of total public budgets to the sector to enhance food production and wealth creation, as well as reduce escalating malnutrition in Africa.

But of the Federal Government’s total budget, only N280,135,513,553 is allocated to personnel, overhead and capital expenditures of the agric sector, representing a paltry 1.73 per cent of the total sum.

It sharply contrasts with the spirit and intent of the Maputo and Malabo declarations of African Union.
It also shows that governments and policy makers in the sector are merely paying lip service to calls for diversification of the economy.

“We hereby adopt the following Declaration: Commitment to Enhancing Investment Finance in Agriculture 2. We commit to enhance investment finance, both public and private, to agriculture; and to this end, we resolve: a) to uphold our earlier commitment to allocate at least 10 per cent of public expenditure to agriculture (Maputo Declaration 2003), and to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness; b) to create and enhance necessary appropriate policy and institutional conditions and support systems for the facilitation of private investment in agriculture, agri-business and agro-industries, by giving priority to local investors; c) to fast-track the operationalisation of the African Investment Bank, as provided for in the Constitutive Act of the African Union, with a view to mobilising and disbursing investment finance for priority agriculture-related investment projects,” Heads of State and Government said in their resolution at the African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in June 2014.

The development has left many farmers across the country lamenting, as the low budget allocation trend flows to the state levels.

In Oyo State, one of the objectives of the administration, as announced, was to open up the state with massive infrastructure, which would make access to the hinterlands to facilitate the movement of goods and foods.

But in the 2021 total budget of N268.8 billion, comprising N137.20 billion recurrent and N131.57 billion for capital expenditures, only N9,575,049,923.14, representing 3.6 per cent of the total, is allocated to the sector.
Governor Seyi Makinde, while presenting the budget, had highlighted how the administration, in the last one year, began a massive turnaround of the agricultural sector, in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on the Start Them Early Programme in agribusiness and the ongoing upgrade of the former OYSADEP headquarters, Saki, now named the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), among others.

With the allocation of N131.57 billion to capital expenditure, coupled with infrastructure getting the second-highest, many roads would be opened up, the governor said. At the end of the year, stakeholders would have to evaluate the overall impact on the sector.

In Kano State, the budgetary allocation to the sector 2021 stands at N8.7 billion, representing about 5.0 per cent of the total budget.

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in late 2020, signed the 2021 appropriation of N177,936,730,540 into law. Out of the total budget, N107,787,239,297 is allocated to recurrent expenditure, while N70,149,491,244 goes for capital expenditure.

Analysis of N8.7 billion allocation to agriculture and natural resources indicates N2,560,000,000 for Agro-Processing, Productivity, Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement And Support (APPEALS) Project; N133,370,000 to improving the veterinary services, which include procurement of vaccines, renovation of five clinics and other services; N150,000,000 to post-training package for students of Leventis Foundation and Procurement of vaccines and equipment for mass animal vaccination agent C.B.P.P; PPR and Anti-Rabies with N25,000,000 allocation.

Under Kano State Agricultural Development Agency (KNARDA), the government allocates N47,000,000 for rehabilitation of markets and parks; N163,644,600 for upgrading of Kadawa Seed Processing Plant; N74,887,505 for National Programme for Food Security; N100,000,000 for nutrition-related activities; Development and Maintenance of Kano Zoo and Wildlife Management Agency gets N118,000,000, while IDB facility, Agric. Components, has N3,500,000,000 in the 2021 budget. Analysts hope that trackers would be on ground to do follow-ups.