Allocate 10% of Budget to Agriculture, FG Told 10 Jul 2013 Font Size: a / A up308212-Agriculture.jpg - up308212-Agriculture.jpg Farmland Obinna Chima The Federal Government has been advised to commence the allocation of 10 per cent of its annual budget to the agricultural sector in order to boost food production in the country. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the Deputy Country Director, Actionaid Nigeria, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Mrs. Ifeoma Charles-Monwuba to have said this in Abuja. She said the call was in line with the objectives of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) created by the African Union (AU) to drive economic integration. Charles-Monwuba said Nigeria and other African countries were yet to meet CAADP’s commitment of allocating 10 per cent of their annual budgets to agriculture, “in spite of Nigeria’s ongoing implementation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).’’ According to her, progress in agricultural development could only be measured through the framework of CAADP. “Basically, there has to be a structural change in the sector for any meaningful progress to be made. That is why we have been pushing that Nigeria sticks to the contract it has signed on the CAADP. “Whatever agricultural transformation agenda or any other plan it has, should be situated within CAADP. That way, we will be able to measure Nigeria’s progress through the framework of CAADP,” she added. Charles-Monwuba further stresses that more needed to be done in ensuring that small farmers benefitted more under the New Alliance for Food and Nutrition scheme. She said policies must be made to have maximum impact, not just on the economy, but also on the citizenry. “In the alliance, the federal government should not just focus on macro-economic indicators of attracting investment into the country but also on the sub-national level. “They should look at the impact on the life of Nigerians, starting with the small farmers, especially the women, making sure that they are guaranteed access and where possible, control of land and farm inputs. “When they produce, the government makes sure that they have access to market, because first of all, the standard of export is quite high,’’ she said. She noted that the Nigerian economy was growing at 7.5 per cent amidst increasing poverty which argued needed to be addressed. She reiterated the need for governments at all levels to ensure that the smallholder farmers were assured of access to local markets through the provision of infrastructure such as roads. This, she argued would make it possible for them to transport their produce from farms to the markets with ease. “This will also help them to buy and mop up whatever excesses they are not able to sell locally and put them in strategic reserves so that they see the value of all they have worked to produce.” Nigeria recently became a partner in the New Alliance for Food and Nutrition, a G8 initiative aimed at catalysing private sector investment in African agriculture. The global partnership recognises the role of private sector investment in agriculture. On the e-Wallet system of distribution of farm inputs, Monwuba also advised the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to bridge the communication gap between the ministry and farmers at the grassroots. She said intermittent evaluation of the programme was necessary to address bottle necks that had made some farmers unable to benefit from it. Tags: Business, Featuered, Nigeria, NAN, AU
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 11:03:11 +0000