Women farmers decry cut in 2025 agriculture budget, seek Tinubu’s intervention

 

Women farmers in Nigeria have raised concerns over the significant reduction in the 2025 budget allocation for the agricultural sector.

Under the umbrella of the Small-scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), they lamented that the proposed budget for agriculture has been slashed by 36.19%, dropping from N996.901 billion in 2024 to N633 billion in 2025.

Speaking alongside the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), a non-state actor, the group warned that the country is in a precarious situation that demands increased investment in agriculture rather than budget cuts.

They called on President Bola Tinubu to reconsider what they described as an insufficient allocation to the sector, stressing that it is critical to addressing food security and hunger in Nigeria.

The women farmers also pointed out that the proposed N633 billion allocation accounts for just 1.28% of the over N53 trillion budget, a sharp decline from the 2.84% allocation in 2024.

The group stressed: “You can’t be increasing the national budget and also be reducing the agricultural budget. And we are clamouring for security in the sector.

“The government should give more money to agriculture to support farmers, especially women and small-scale farmers. “The government should also plan better to make sure that the agricultural sector plans are aligned with the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy.”

They urged that the government to declare a state of emergency in the agricultural sector, stressing that every government pronouncement or policy pronouncement also has economic implications.

“We are calling on the government to declare a state of emergency and also that the allocation for the sector is poor.

“We are trying to draw their attention. We are not trying to put the blame on anybody but the necessary departments that are working on the budget should be able to draw the attention of the Federal Government and say that the allocation for this sector on key farmers that are practising in the field is unacceptable. And that is why we are here to say let them look at it the second time before they do the final passing, which there is still room for.

“They called for 10% of the budget to be set aside for agriculture. These are what we are advocating for in accordance with the Maputo declaration.

“So, against the 10%, we are not even moving close. We are moving far away from the 10% allocation that we want the president to even start, not to even talk about more.

The group made the following demands from the government for the country to be able to address food insecurity and hunger in the country.

“ There is a need to increase the budget allocation to the FMAFS in the 2025 budget of the federal government of Nigeria. This is necessary as funding gaps were observed in critical areas of investment, ranging from extension services and access to farm inputs to investment in smallholder women farmers, as well as in addressing the various aspects of climate change and agroecology that are affecting the optimal performance of the agricultural sector. The need for enhanced funding is also necessitated by the 1.28% of the total federal government budget committed to the sector against the 10% that is recommended by the Maputo Declaration. This will enhance the capacity of the ministry to coordinate and support actions to attain food and nutrition security in Nigeria. Engagement with subnational governments in this direction to shore up their funding efforts will also be essential.

“Whereas every programme and project of the FMAFS should feed into the implementation of the NATIP, evidence from the projects and programme provided for in the 2025 budget proposal of the ministry shows only 34% alignment in this direction. “There is a need for the FMAFS to ensure that planning for the sector is anchored on the NATIP policy. This will ensure a strong plan-budget link that will deliver on the overall goal for the sector, including attaining the SDG 2.

“Budgetary allocations should be increased and should go to strategic areas of investments which include Extension Services, Access to Credit, Women in Agriculture, Youth in Agriculture, Appropriate Labour-Saving Technologies, Inputs, Post-Harvest Losses Reduction Supports (processing facilities, storage facilities, trainings, market access, etc.), Irrigation, Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA)/Agroecology, Research and Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, as well as Coordination.

“The allocation to the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) should be increased as NADF is an important aspect of the NATIP and also vital for the overall development of the agricultural sector, but 97% of its capital should not be allocated for the Renewed Hope Fertilizer Support Program. Allocation for capital expenditure for NADF should be targeted to achieving the commitments in the President’s declared state of emergency on the food security situation in the country, therefore should focus on Extension Services, Access to Credit, Women in Agriculture, Youth in Agriculture, Appropriate Labour-Saving Technologies, Inputs, Post-Harvest Losses Reduction Supports (processing facilities, storage facilities, trainings, market access, etc.), Irrigation, Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA)/Agroecology. It is also vital to ensure timely and total releases to the NADF.”

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