By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Stakeholders in Delta State’s agriculture sector have called for a substantial increase in the government’s budget allocation for agriculture.
This call was made during a one-day State-level Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2025 Delta State Agriculture Budget, held on 24th September 2024 at Orchid Hotel, Asaba.
The meeting brought together key representatives from various sectors, including the Environmental and Rural Mediation Centre (ENVIRUMEDIC), ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), the Delta State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Delta State Budget Committee Group (BCG), and the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON).
Mr. Alex Okekporo, representing ENVIRUMEDIC, highlighted that the primary goal of the consultative meeting was to create a platform for stakeholders to contribute towards shaping the 2025 agriculture budget.
He stressed the importance of crafting a budget that would tackle food security issues and promote wealth creation, particularly through policies that include smallholder women farmers in the decision-making process.
The participants reviewed the 2024 agriculture budget, emphasising necessary adjustments to benefit smallholder women farmers and other crucial sectors.
The discussions underscored the challenges the agriculture sector faces, including food inflation, which soared to 40.87% in June 2024, coupled with a weakening naira and a growing reliance on costly imported food.
Participants also highlighted the significant barriers confronting smallholder women farmers, such as limited access to credit, insecurity, insufficient agricultural inputs, and inadequate post-harvest facilities.
These were identified as key obstacles to agricultural growth in the region.
The collaborative efforts between government ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), and non-state actors were commended for providing practical solutions to the sector’s challenges.
The ₦9.2 billion increase in the 2024 allocation to the Delta State Ministry of Agriculture was acknowledged as a positive move, although concerns were raised regarding delays in the disbursement of the 2024 capital budget.
While the introduction of the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) holds promise, the meeting noted that inadequate budgetary allocations have hampered its full implementation.
Delta State’s agriculture investment has consistently fallen below 2% in recent years, far below the 10% target set by the African Union’s Malabo Declaration.
This shortfall has stalled efforts to achieve the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) goal of 6% growth in the agricultural sector.
Participants called on the Delta State government to increase public investment in agriculture, urging timely budget approvals and disbursements to support farming activities and improve food production.
They emphasised the need for the state to meet the 10% budget allocation target outlined in the Malabo Declaration, in order to ensure sustainable agricultural growth.
It was further recommended that the 2025 agriculture budget be gender-sensitive, with specific provisions to support women and youth farmers.
Participants also stressed the importance of improving access to credit, strengthening extension services, promoting labour-saving technologies, and reducing post-harvest losses.
The stakeholders urged the Delta State government to develop its own Agricultural Investment Plan, aligned with the CAADP framework.
A focus on sustainable farming practices, such as agroecology, was also recommended to mitigate the harmful effects of toxic agrochemicals.
ENVIRUMEDIC pledged to forward the meeting’s communique to relevant MDAs and institutions, ensuring that the insights and recommendations from the consultation will shape the formulation of the 2025 agriculture budget.
The meeting attracted 32 participants, representing key institutions including the Delta State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Economic Planning, the State House Committee on Agriculture, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, the Bank of Agriculture, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, as well as civil society organisations and the media.
This consultative session is seen as a vital step towards fostering a more inclusive and sustainable approach to agricultural development in Delta State, with hopes that the recommendations will drive improvements in food security, rural development, and economic growth.
