By Martina Egobuike-Enebeli
WARRI/Nigeria: In a scathing review, the Delta Budget Committee Group (BCG), joined by the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) and the Environmental and Rural Mediation Center (ENVIRUMEDIC), has slammed the Delta State government for its meager budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector, highlighting the pressing need for increased funding to bolster food security and uplift the populace’s welfare.
The coalition delivered this critique on Thursday, May 9, 2024, during a press briefing in Warri, where they presented a comprehensive analysis of the 2024 Delta State budget.
Chief Monday Itoghor, the Executive Director of ENVIRUMEDIC and coordinator of BCG, emphasized that their annual scrutiny of the Delta State budget aims to evaluate the government’s policies regarding agriculture financing to enhance food production and security.
Itoghor clarified that their report isn’t intended to antagonize the Delta State government but to inspire policy improvements to expedite agricultural growth and productivity.
The coalition’s report revealed stark disparities, notably that the 2024 Delta State agriculture budget represents a mere 1.26% of the total state budget, significantly falling short of the 10% benchmark set by the Maputo Declaration. This, they argue, underscores the state government’s lack of commitment to agricultural development.
While acknowledging a slight increase in capital expenditure, the report criticized the allocation’s focus on projects that fail to impact citizens directly, especially in rural communities.
Furthermore, the allocation of N9,161,967,898 to agriculture translates to a meager N1,625.6 per capita investment, signaling a concerning undervaluation of the sector’s role in driving development and poverty reduction.
Although there were commendable increases in allocations targeting women and youth initiatives, such as the Rural Women for Sustainable Agriculture program, concerns linger over the ambiguous funding details, hindering effective monitoring and tracking.
The report also raised alarms over reduced credit provisions for smallholder women farmers and stagnant allocations for critical entities like the Delta Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (DARDA), highlighting the inadequacy of resources for effective service provision.
Moreover, the absence of provisions to address post-harvest losses and inadequate investment in labour-saving technologies underscored significant gaps in the budget’s approach to sustainable agriculture.
In response to these findings, the coalition issued a series of recommendations urging the government to realign its priorities, increase budgetary allocations, ensure timely fund disbursement, and enhance support for smallholder farmers, especially women and youths.
