Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), the Community of Agriculture Non-State Actors (COANSA), and ActionAid Nigeria have raised the alarm that the allocation to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security declined by 36.19% from a total of N996.901 billion in 2024 to N636.08 billion in the 2025 budget proposal.
The president of SWOFON, Fatimah Gumi, while briefing jourmalists on Friday in Abuja, said despite years of advocacy for increased funding to the agriculture sector, the federal government’s commitment remains far below the 10% target set by the Malabo declaration.
Gumi said the share of the total federal budget allocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (including the National Agricultural Development Fund) has sharply declined from 2.84% in 2024 to a mere 1.28% in the 2025 proposed budget.
She said, even when you add the allocation to the Federal Ministry of Livestock, the total agriculture sector budget only reaches N647.88 billion, which accounts for just 1.3% of the total federal government budget a clear reflection of the insufficient prioritization of this critical sector.
She said the allocation for the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) in the 2025 budget proposal is N132.325 billion of which capital budget accounts for 99.61%, overhead accounts for 0.38% and personnel cost at 0.01%.
On recommendations, the Chairperson of COANSA, Rosemary Effiong said there is a need to increase the budget allocation to the FMAFS in the 2025 budget of the federal government of Nigeria.
She said 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.
“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.
“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 overa
“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,” she said.
