The Nigerian Senate has urged the government to ensure that agricultural production receives at least 10% of overall annual budget revenue.
Sen. Salihu Mustapha (APC, Kwara), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture Production, Services, and Rural Development, made the request on Monday at the joint budget defense session of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Abuja.
Mustapha stated that the Senate and House Agriculture Production, Services, and Rural Development Committees are concerned about the agriculture sector’s issues.
Despite the problems, he observed that the sector remained the greatest non-oil contributor to the country’s GDP, accounting for more than 20% of total GDP.
He bemoaned that the sector’s budgetary allocation remained far below the 10% target set by the Maputo Declaration, to which Nigeria signed.
“The agricultural sector has the largest potential to lead millions of Nigerians out of poverty and provide much-needed food security.
“It is, therefore, imperative that the sector be given the utmost priority in national economic policies and future budgets.
“I, therefore, call on the executive to exercise the political will to allocate at least 10 per cent of the national budgets and revenues to the agriculture sector,” Mustapha said.
He said the budget defence process was not only important but also sacrosanct.
He said both chambers of the 10th Assembly had demonstrated readiness and commitment to work together to pass the 2024 budget in good time.