Stakeholders from the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) FCT – Agricultural Development Project (FCT-ADP) on Tuesday expressed concern that there is no significant allocation for the newly created departments of Cooperative and Rural Development, and Fisheries to ensure the effective delivery of their services.
According to the FCT analysis 2021 statutory appropriation act for the Agriculture, the departments since 2017 only got the total recurrent of N172,787,427 in 2021 for fisheries department and also the total capital of N104,000,000 was allocated .
The stakeholders stated this in a joint communique during the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON) in partnership with ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), under the Scaling Up Public Investments in Agriculture (SUPIA) project, when they organized a 1-day State Level Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2022 FCT Agriculture Budget in Abuja .
According to them, the creation of two new departments: Departments of Cooperative and Rural Development, and Fisheries is highly commendable but a lot needs to be done .
According to them, except for 2019 budget which was concluded in the preceding year due to the general elections, there is always a delay in the FCT budget process.
They further said the late assent to the 2021 FCT Statutory Appropriation Bill has great economic implications for the FCT and livelihoods of smallholder farmers who often depend on such resources for their agricultural productivity.
In their words “Significant improvements are observed in the FCT with specific regards to exclusion of frivolous expenditure items.
“However, there are still delays in the distribution of fertilizers and limited access to credit and farm inputs by smallholder farmers especially women and youth.
“Access to Budgetary information is poor while public engagement as an instrument for promoting increased and improved social service is made almost impossible.
“There is a huge gap in extension agent – farmer ratio, which has a limiting effect on technology transfer to women farmers; and Security threat to agricultural activities arising from the herder-farmers conflict always received attention in the FCT budget and such should be commended.
They called on the need to promote Gender Mainstreaming in the budgetary allocations and facilitate timely submission, consideration and passage of the FCT annual statutory budgets and release of funds.
“Allocation to agricultural sector must be given priority attention in the FCT in line with the Malabo Declaration in order to promote food and nutrition security in the FCT as well as increase livelihoods of women and youth farmers and enhance their contributions to agricultural development in line with the National Gender Policy in Agriculture,” they said .
Other stakeholders who signed the communique are the Federal Capital Territory Administration – Agriculture & Rural Development Secretariat (FCT-ARDS),Trade Network Initiative (TNI)
- Fresh & Young Brains Development Initiative (FBIN), National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS),Keen and Care Initiative (KCI),Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC),House Committee on Agriculture Production and Services and Media organizations.
