The N362.9 billion planned agriculture budget for 2024 has drawn criticism from ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), Small-Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), and other agriculture sector stakeholders. At a joint news conference on Saturday in Abuja to examine the proposed budget for the agriculture sector for 2024, the groups voiced their opinions.
The Non State Actors Coalition (CNC), ONE, and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) were among the other stakeholders. They called the N362.9 billion total budget for the agriculture sector “extremely low,” noting that it accounted for only 1.32 percent of the whole budget of the federal government.
They emphasized that, as the industry with the greatest potential to transform the economy and provide jobs for a large number of young people, agriculture needs to receive adequate support from the national budget. According to Azubike Nwokoye, Program Manager, Food and Agriculture, AAN, the agricultural sector should be given priority in the national budget since it has the greatest potential to transform the economy and create jobs for a large number of young people.
“However, actual data has not demonstrated that a sector’s production in terms of social benefit to the society increases with the amount of resources allocated to it,” he said. “The budget allocated to the agriculture sector has not exceeded two percent of the overall budget for the past seven years.”
According to Nwokoye, assuming a 21.4 percent inflation rate, the budget for the agriculture sector would have a real worth or purchasing power of N285 billion in 2024. He pointed out that even though the sector had a budget of N362.9 billion, under all circumstances, the amount would decrease by at least N77.7 billion. He says that in order to achieve the intended investment impact in terms of money, the N77.7 billion deficit must be closed, either by adding more budgetary resources or by bringing inflation down to the absolute minimum.