By Emmanuel Enebeli
ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State government had been called to as a matter of urgency, increase agricultural funding in its subsequent budgeting, and supports for women farmers, especially the small women farmers, as study had shown that the funding of the sector annually had been dwindling.
The called was made during Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the to discuss the 2022 Agriculture Budget is aimed at facilitating conversations amongst key stakeholders with regards to budget and budgetary processes of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Asaba, Delta State.
The Stakeholders Consultative Meeting, which was in the instant of ENVIRUMEDIC/ActionAid Nigeria and Budget Committee Group, BCG, was held at Orchid Hotels, Asaba on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, and to Strengthening citizens’ participation towards making Agriculture budget responsive for food security and wealth creation.
The meeting, while commending the state government for the N200 million allocated to Delta Agriculture and Rural Development Authority (DARDA) in 2018 and 2019, nosedived to N80 million in 2020 and rose to N100 million in 2021, which is far cry from 2018 allocation.
Participants at the meeting observed the following core issues should be addressed in the 2022 Agriculture budget, that,
“Budgetary allocation to Agriculture has been on an unimpressive descending and ascending order of 0.87, 0.90 and 1.06 for 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively while, in 2020, it fell to 0.89% and rose infinitesimally to 0.92%”
“Allocation to agriculture has never met the Malabo declaration of 10% of total budgetary allocations from the year 2017 – 2021.”
“Youth Agriculture Enterprise Program (YAGEP) did not fall into any budget line item under Job Creation to ascertain how much was committed to it in the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 budgets respectively.”
“There was no women specific agricultural intervention in the budget line item to boost as well as complement women farmers activities in the State.
While further commending the Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Agriculture for their commitment to collaborating with Non-State Actors, which should be sustained for more inclusive, and responsive agriculture policy and budget making processes in Delta State, recommended amongst others, that;
“Government should increase the allocation to agriculture in a bid to comply with the Malabo Declaration of 10% total budgetary allocation to Agriculture annually and to ensure food security.”
“Government should ensure timely and total releases of approved funds to the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources as Agricultural activities are time bound.”
“The budgetary system should be made transparent for ease of monitoring and tracking”
“Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Smallholder Women farmers and other key stakeholders should be actively involved in the budgetary process through organising a consultative forum by the Ministry of Agriculture before Call for Budget Circulars to get smallholder women farmers organizations and CSOs inputs into the agriculture budget. This is to capture the real needs of farmers in the State”
“Agricultural line items domiciled in Job Creation Office should be spelt out for ease of Monitoring and Tracking.”
“To achieve diversification using agriculture, smallholders’ women farmer activities should be supported by the State Government through increased budgetary provision, as they produce over 70% of the food consumed by the State Population.”
Earlier, the Executive Director, Environmental and Rural Mediation Centre, ENVIRUMEDIC, Chief Monday Itoghor, in his welcome speech said the Consultative Meeting is an annual event to study and engage the state in the best way to improve agriculture practice in the state, through better funding of the sector, with the State Government and Non State Actors.
Participants at the meeting includes the Commissioner for Humanitarian Services, Bridget Anyafule, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Civic Engagement and Civil Society, Rex Anighoro, Representatives of Ministry of Agriculture, House Committee of Agriculture, Small Farmers Network, (SHOWFAN), Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation, SWOFON, the Media, ENVIRUMEDIC, ActionAid Nigeria and other stakeholders.
