National Dialogue On The 4th CAADP Biennial Review (BR) Report: Stakeholders Urge FG To Increase Agriculture Sector Budgetary Provision.q

"Increase the Agriculture sector budgetary provision to meet the 10 per cent of the total annual national budget for agriculture." Agric stakeholders urge government.

Report By Juliet Oyoyo 

Agriculture impacts society in many ways, including: supporting livelihoods through food, habitat, and jobs; providing raw materials for food and other products; and building strong economies through trade.

Agriculture helps reduce poverty, raise incomes and improve food security for 80% of the world's poor, who live in rural areas and work mainly in farming.

Countries focus on Agricultural development to enable them provide food for their populace hence saving them from food insecurity.

At a National Dialogue on the fourth CAADP BR report held in Abuja, the dialogue which was  organised by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture Food Security, stakeholders urged the government to increase the Agriculture sector budgetary provision to meet the 10 per cent of the total annual national budget for agriculture.

ActionAid Nigeria has observed that the country has not been putting the right investments in the agricultural sector.

ActionAid Nigeria’s Food and Agriculture Coordinator, Azubike Nwokoye, during the interview at the National Dialogue on the 4th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) Biennial Review (BR) Report, cited  an example said , 

"First and foremost, the right investments need to be put in the Agricultural sector in key areas. And those key areas are areas like extension services, youth in agriculture, women in agriculture, and reducing post harvest losses.

"We need to focus on supporting farmers to have storage and processing facilities to support in reducing post service losses and support income generation and also access to credit is also a big problem.

"There is also the challenge of proper investment in research and development. So, those are areas, and also access to labor saving technologies for small holder women farmers.

"The Federal budget is less than 2% most times and most times, Nigeria is not meeting up adding that the issue of data is also a problem.

According to him, in terms of data, there are different indicators that the country is supposed to be reporting on, but getting data in those areas is a challenge .

“We are not getting data in those areas as a country to report, so those are areas of improvement.

“First and foremost, the right investments need to be put in the Agricultural sector in key areas. And those key areas are areas like extension services, youth in agriculture, women in agriculture, reducing post harvest losses.

“So, the most important component of it is the right investments,” he said.

He explained that the Biennial Review is a report which is done in every Two years to the African Union Commission on the comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Result Framework.

He further explained that there are different parameters, there are areas, there are principles, there are guidelines, there are different processes.

Also, the Director Planning and Policy Coordination, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security represented by the Deputy Director of the ministry, Abdulmalik Abdulganiyu explained that the 2023 fourth Biennial Review Report was adopted at African Union Summit in February 2024 and officially launched at continental level in March, 2024.

He said the report indicated out of the 49 countries that reported there was no single country on track of achieving the 7 Malabo Commitments by 2025.

He said the meeting was designed to accord us with the opportunity to identify data gaps and possible sources for the next Biennial review process as well as Identify areas for preparation of policy brief for articulation of projects and programmes towards enhancing the country performance.

“The country noted that credible data source in an evidence based manner continue to affect the true situation on the agricultural development under the context of global initiatives (SDGs), Continental (CAADP) and other National Plans in the country.

”The outcomes would help the Ministry to enhance our data generation, analysis & harmonization system for the promotion and development of commodity value chains towards achieving food security, wealth and job creations in the country,” he said.

AbdulMalik who said the meeting was designed to allow stakeholders to identify data gaps and possible sources for the next biennial review process, commended AAN for consistently collaborating with the Ministry through the CAADP biennial review process and chairing the steering committee on implementing the National Agricultural Gender Policy across the country.