Stakeholders eye better agric policies, funding in 2025

To avert the worsening food crisis predicted by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) this year, farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector have enjoined the Federal Government and other policy makers to prioritise the sector through increased funding, infrastructure development and support for sustainable practices.

Of major concern to them, is the country’s inflation currently tilting towards 40 per cent, majorly owing to the lingering food crisis, which they said should be tackled headlong to save the country.

While reports have it that the current administration’s economic policies, climate shocks and ongoing conflicts are responsible for the food crisis, it was learnt that government’s perceived nonchalant attitude towards the sector is also playing a big role.

The Chief Executive Officer, Green Sahara Farms, Plateau State, Suleiman Dikwa, told The Guardian that if the current administration genuinely aims to boost agriculture, it must translate its promises into actionable funding and policies.

He said: “There is need for the government to recognise the urgency of the situation and take decisive action to bolster agricultural investment. Otherwise, the promise of enhancing the sector may indeed be perceived as mere lip service, leaving vulnerable populations at greater risk.

“There is need for the government to recognise the urgency of the situation and take decisive action to bolster agricultural investment. Otherwise, the promise of enhancing the sector may indeed be perceived as mere lip service, leaving vulnerable populations at greater risk.”

While condemning the two per cent allocated to the sector in the 2025 budget, Dikwa said considering the critical role of the sector in ensuring food security, economic stability, and rural livelihoods, such a minimal allocation appear inadequate to address the challenges facing the country.

The Founder of Izanu Africa, Comfort Onyaga, noted that though the country is already battling with climate change and other variables that are interfering with food production – insecurity in the north and all of that, she regretted that the poor policy implementation on fuel subsidy removal negatively impacted the agricultural sector where there is inflation in the cost of everything – fertiliser and others.

Onyaga disclosed that hunger has been used by the political class as a tool to subdue the population and ensure they are dependent on state assistance, adding that the states are also not helping matters as their policies on the sector, are not substantial enough to address hunger in Nigeria.

“How do you allocate two per cent of the country’s budget to agriculture and yet the same administration declared state of emergency on agriculture and food insecurity. How do you allocate two per cent only against the backdrop of the worsening food crisis and the projection considering also that agriculture is supposed to be the backbone of Nigeria’s economy? This is the primary source of livelihood of majority of Nigerians, especially those in rural communities.”

She claimed that the much-hyped efforts of government on the sector are just mere lip service, as it has little or no effect on the farmers. “Does the current administration expect Nigerians to start eating grasses in 2025? How exactly are families expected to survive? How would people afford three square meals in a day in 2025?

Onyaga noted that with government’s lackluster attitude, if care is not taken, there’s going to be increased dependency on imports because if the cost of food production becomes very high, Nigerians would rely more on food importation because a lot of them are going to be cheaper.

“But my problem now is the food that would be imported into Nigeria would actually not be quality food. Who is even checking to ensure that these food products are healthy and nutritious to meet the dietary requirements of Nigerians?

“Who is checking? And by the way, not all the imported food would be cheap. Some will be expensive, but we have countries that actually have some of their foreign products that are actually cheaper than the local products, because they are substandard products.

“Obviously, food price inflation is just going to skyrocket. There’s already hyperinflation. I don’t know what to call the level of inflation that Nigerians will be experiencing this year. Nigeria has a very beautiful agricultural, strategy and plan, yet there’s no investment. There’s no prioritisation of the agricultural sector to ensure that we have adequate investment in the sector across different segments of the value chain to ensure that people have access to nutritious, food at affordable prices.

“This is actually, by implication, going to take us 50 years backward because 50 years ago, Nigeria was in a better position than it is today.” On his part, the Executive Secretary, Produce Export Development Alliance (formerly AFGEAN) and CEO, Post-Harvest Africa, Adetiloye Aiyeola, who said the current administration has pledged to revitalise agriculture, noted that the pronouncement of state of emergency on the food sector hasn’t align with the government’s posture

“Insufficient funding could hinder the development of the sector, even roll back efforts to enhance food production, improve supply chains, and support farmers, thereby, exacerbating the food crisis. To effectively combat food insecurity and fulfill its promises, the government should consider increasing agricultural investment to a level that reflects the sector’s critical importance to national well-being.

“I am concerned that with the current this modest allocation may not suffice to address the multifaceted challenges, such as post harvest loss, insecurity, and economic instability that can impede agricultural productivity and food distribution,” he said.