Farmers and other stakeholders have expressed disapproval of the over N1.25tn government budget allotted for the government Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in three years to handle the sector, citing the high costs of food goods in the market despite their availability.
They puzzled why food costs had risen despite being readily available, even though they noted that there was little correlation between food prices and federal expenditures for agriculture.
Despite the over N1tn federal agriculture budgets in 2022, 2023, and 2024, farmers under the auspices of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria expressed concerns about the devaluation of the naira, explaining that it was a significant issue that had made food unaffordable.
The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which stated on Saturday that the nation’s poverty rates were currently rising due to the ongoing increase in food costs, added credence to the worries expressed by farmers.
The agriculture ministry received almost N1.25 trillion in financial allocations over the course of the three years 2022, 2023, and 2024, according to data our reporter received from the Federation’s Budget Office. Despite this, the budgets decreased each.
The agriculture ministry was approved to receive N462.2 billion in 2022, with N71.84 billion for staff costs, N3.7 billion for overhead, and N386.65 billion for capital projects.
In 2023, the entire budgetary allocation fell to N426.99 billion due to N80.94 billion in personnel costs, N4.5 billion in overhead, and N341.6 billion for capital projects.
The ministry’s 2024 budget saw a further decrease, with a total allocation of N362.94 billion, made up of N8.1 billion for overhead, N102.1 billion for staff costs, and N252.7 billion for capital projects.
Nevertheless, despite hundreds of billions of naira allocated to the agriculture ministry at both the state and federal levels, commodities have remained expensive, according to Kabir Ibrahim, President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, who stated that the budgets have had little effect on food prices.
