By Omotayo Edubi
The Kogi Budget Committee Group has called on Kogi State government to increase its public investments in agriculture as a strategic approach to increase food production, reduce hunger, poverty and insecurity.
The Committee which made the call in a communique issued on Wednesday night at the end of Kogi State Budget Committee Advocacy Summit in Lokoja said agriculture had direct impact on every facet of the national economy.
The meeting was organised by ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with its local rights partner, Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development.
The group noted that this would also help achieve the Maputo/Malabo commitment of 10 per cent budgetary allocation to the Agriculture sector as approved by the 44th National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development.
The communique urged government to consider scaling up investments in specific areas of agricultural extension services, access to credit facilities, women and youths in agriculture; and appropriate labour-saving technologies.
It also suggested other areas as inputs, post-harvest loss reduction support, training, climate resilient sustainable agriculture, agroecology research and development, monitoring and evaluation as well as coordination.
The Group urged government to put in place an Agricultural Policy, create awareness and sensitisation on the policy as part of efforts to promote improved citizens’ participation in budgeting processes.
The communique stated that existing relationship between the state government and non-state actors should be strengthened in the bid to promote accountability and transparency in public resource management.
The group advocated more gender-responsive agricultural budgeting through provision of items for the implementation of the National Gender Policy in Agriculture.
It reiterated the need to involve more smallholder women farmers in budget planning discussions.
The communique underscored the need for a State Investment Plan for the Agriculture sector utilising Public Private Partnership windows in alignment with the National Economic Policy and Development plans.
It noted the non-timely releases of budgetary allocations to the Agriculture sector.
As a result, the communique urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies to itemise their priorities and give proper timeline that would be synchronised with the farming seasons.
