Don advocates 30% budget for agriculture in states, LGs

Wife of the President,Oluremi Tinubu, has called for increased investment in rural women, urging stakeholders to expand their access to land, finance, modern agricultural tools, training and markets to strengthen food security and accelerate economic growth.

Similarly, to enhance food production in the country, agricultural economist Prof. Philips Nto advocated increasing the budgetary allocation for agriculture in states and local councils to 30 per cent.

Mrs Tinubu made the call in a message to commemorate the 2026 International Day of Rural Women (IDRW), in which she celebrated the resilience, dedication and contributions of rural women to agriculture, food production, household welfare and community development.

She noted that this year’s observance was particularly significant as it coincided with the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF), providing an opportunity to draw greater attention to the critical role women play in sustaining food systems, strengthening rural economies and supporting national development.

According to her, rural women remain indispensable to agricultural productivity and food security, contributing significantly to farming, food processing, preservation, distribution and other activities that sustain livelihoods across communities.

Despite their contributions, many continue to face barriers to accessing productive resources, including land, credit facilities, modern farming equipment, extension services, and profitable markets.

The First Lady stressed the need to address these challenges through deliberate investments and policies that would enable rural women to improve their productivity, expand their businesses and derive greater economic benefits from their labour.

She maintained that empowering rural women would have far-reaching benefits beyond agriculture, improving household incomes, enhancing family welfare, strengthening communities and contributing to national prosperity.

“When rural women are empowered, families prosper, communities flourish, and nations grow stronger,” she said.

Calling on government institutions, development partners, financial institutions, the private sector and other stakeholders to intensify efforts to create opportunities for rural women to thrive, particularly through improved access to agricultural resources, skills development, appropriate technology and sustainable market linkages, she emphasised the importance of recognising rural women not merely as contributors to agricultural production but as entrepreneurs, innovators and key partners in building resilient food systems and inclusive rural economies.

IDRW, observed on October 15, recognises the contributions of rural women to agricultural development, food security, poverty reduction, and the sustainability of rural communities.

The 2026 commemoration provides a renewed opportunity to advance practical interventions that address the structural barriers facing women farmers and better position them to benefit from opportunities in the agricultural value chain.

SPEAKING to journalists yesterday, ahead of this year’s World Food Day (WFD), the expert urged states and local councils to allocate a minimum of 30 per cent of their budget to agriculture, with the increase in allocation to the two tiers of government from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC),

WFD is marked every October 16. This year’s theme is ‘Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow’.

Nto, a former Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning in Abia State, said that, apart from the increased budgetary allocation to agriculture, the government should promote local production through various incentives, such as the distribution of improved seedlings, fertiliser, and new technologies, as well as training and retraining for farmers.

According to him, the government should also ensure adequate security for farmers and rural communities against banditry and kidnapping to increase food production.

Nto, who was Provost of Abia State College of Education, Technical, Arochukwu (ASCETA), further urged governors to deploy Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric buses to rural areas for evacuation of farm produce, to reduce the prices of food, which are rising daily.

“I sincerely believe that if these measures are put in place by the states and local governments, there will be an increase in food production, which in turn will bring about a reduction in food prices,” the don said.