SENATE WANTS 10% ALLOCATION OF ANNUAL BUDGET REVENUE TO AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION 11-12-23
By Sadiq Aminu The Senate wants allocation of at least 10 per cent of total annual budget revenue to agricultural production.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture Production, Services and Rural
Development,Senator Salihu Mustapha made the call in Abuja ,during the joint budget defence session of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
He explained that the budget allocation to the sector remained a departure from
the 10 per cent of the nation’s budget in accordance with the Maputo declaration, to which Nigeria was committed to.
“The agricultural sector has the largest potential to lead millions of
Nigerians out of poverty and provide the much-needed food
security.
“It is therefore imperative that the sector should be given the utmost priority in national economic policies and future budgets.
“I therefore call on the executive to exercise the political will to
allocate at least 10 per cent of the national budgets and revenues
to the agriculture sector,”Mustapha said
Senator Mustapha said they were concerned about the challenges facing the agricultural sector and stressed that despite the challenges, the sector remained the largest contributor to the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)from the non-oil sector with over 20 per cent.
According to him it would enable the Federal Government to provide
the laudable objectives of physical infrastructure and socioeconomic services to the people.
“By this commendable effort, both the public and the private sectors
will benefit from a budget cycle that is not only reliable but also
predictable for planning and execution of their fiscal and financial
policies and programmes.”
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Senator .Abubakar Kyari listed the ministry’s achievement in 2023 to include procurement and distribution of 324,718 kilograms of certified maize seeds to farmers clusters in the six geo-political zones of the country.
He said the ministry registered over 2,351 fertilizer operators across the country using the National Fertilizer Management e-portal platform which generated direct and indirect employment over the years.
He however, decried inadequate budgetary provisions to execute critical projects and programs that would stimulate national agricultural production.
According to Senator Kyari the ministry distributed over 2,000 tomatoe production, pests and diseases management packs to over 2,000 resourced poor small holder farmers in 10 producing states affected by Tuta Absoluta in 2022.
The states includes Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue.
According to him, less than two per cent of the national budget was committed to agriculture as against 10 per cent agreed by Africa Heads of State at the Maputo declaration.
He also decried inadequate overhead costs allocation to the ministry to meet its operational needs.
The Agric Minister said , the effect of climate change and unprecedented flooding in most parts of the country, has greatly interfered with agricultural activities in most agrarian communities.