FG Moves to End Fragmented Agricultural Spending, Aligns National, State Budgets with 10-Year Agrifood Strategy

By Pan Afric Reporters

The Federal Government has commenced efforts to harmonise agricultural planning and budgeting across the country by convening a national validation meeting aimed at aligning federal and state budgets with Nigeria’s 10-year National Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035) for the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration.

The initiative is expected to strengthen food systems, boost food sovereignty, improve policy coherence, attract investment, and accelerate the transformation of Nigeria’s agricultural sector through coordinated implementation of national and sub-national programmes.

The development was disclosed in a press statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and signed by the Head, Department of Information, Ezeaja Ikemefuna, on July 8, 2026.

Speaking at the National Validation Meeting held in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as state governments, to align their annual budgets with the new agrifood strategy to ensure the effective domestication of the CAADP Kampala Declaration and eliminate duplication in agricultural spending.

According to the minister, the strategy builds on the achievements of the Maputo Declaration of 2003 and the Malabo Declaration of 2014, while adopting a more comprehensive agrifood systems approach to agricultural development.

“This validation meeting is essential. It is where the zero draft becomes stronger, more representative, and more actionable. We must ensure that every budget line, every programme, and every intervention across government is aligned with the priorities of this Strategy,” Kyari said.

He explained that the strategy was developed through extensive consultations across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and a national stakeholders’ workshop to ensure it reflects the country’s diverse agricultural landscape.

“We wanted a plan that reflects the diversity of Nigeria’s agricultural landscape—from the livestock corridors of the North to the aquaculture belts of the South, from the cassava and yam zones of the East to the cocoa and oil palm plantations of the West,” he added.

Kyari noted that the document provides a harmonised implementation framework with clearly defined responsibilities, timelines and accountability mechanisms, while integrating the CAADP Biennial Review indicators into Nigeria’s planning, budgeting and reporting systems.

He said the strategy directly addresses major challenges confronting the country’s agrifood sector, including climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, post-harvest losses and market volatility, stressing that these issues must be tackled alongside efforts to increase agricultural production.

The minister further explained that the blueprint prioritises blended financing involving public, private and development partners, while promoting agricultural insurance and affordable credit facilities to reduce risks faced by farmers.

He added that special attention has been given to supporting smallholder farmers, women, youths and other vulnerable groups.

“The Kampala Declaration is not just a continental commitment. It is a roadmap for transforming Nigeria’s agrifood system into one that is resilient, inclusive, productive and industrialised,” Kyari stated.

The minister urged stakeholders to integrate the strategy into their annual budget preparation processes, warning that the document must not become “another document on the shelf.”

He further explained that a unified national strategy would eliminate duplication, strengthen policy coordination, harmonise targets and indicators, and provide a single framework capable of attracting greater public and private sector investments into agriculture.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Olaniyi Ogunbiyi, commended members of the Agricultural Sector Working Group and Technical Committee for coordinating the nationwide consultations that produced the draft strategy.

He noted that the document aligns Nigeria’s agricultural priorities with Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the CAADP Kampala Declaration, while complementing ongoing government interventions in mechanisation, irrigation, value chain development, digitalisation of agricultural services and private sector participation.

Dr. Ogunbiyi said the validation exercise was designed to strengthen the implementation framework by identifying gaps, improving policy coherence and reinforcing accountability across the agrifood value chain.

“Our vision is to build an agrifood system that is productive, competitive, climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive, digitally enabled, market-oriented and attractive to our young people. Our objective is to ensure that no Nigerian goes hungry and that agriculture remains profitable for our farmers and agribusinesses,” he said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Agriculture in Osun State, Mr. Tola Faseru, pledged the commitment of state governments to implementing the Kampala Declaration, describing it as consistent with the Federal Government’s agricultural transformation agenda.

He emphasised the importance of increasing the participation of women and young people in the agrifood system to boost food production, create jobs and improve revenue generation.

The validation meeting attracted representatives of state governments, development partners, private sector organisations, civil society groups and farmers’ associations, who deliberated on strategies for the successful implementation of Nigeria’s agrifood transformation agenda over the next decade.