Nigeria’s Agriculture Budget Too Low To Deliver Food Security – ActionAid

ActionAid Nigeria has warned that inadequate investment in agriculture by the federal and state governments could derail Nigeria’s food security ambitions and frustrate the implementation of the country’s new agricultural development strategy.

The organisation’s Food Systems Specialist, Azubike Nwokoye, gave the warning in Abuja during the launch of Nigeria’s strategy for implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration.

Nwokoye said an analysis conducted by ActionAid through a newly developed agricultural expenditure dashboard revealed poor capital spending on agriculture across many states between 2023 and 2025.

According to him, the assessment, which covered the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), showed that in 2025, 16 states recorded very low performance in agricultural capital spending, eight states recorded medium performance, while only 10 states achieved high performance.

“The findings are not encouraging. Between 2023 and 2025, Nigeria has performed poorly in terms of capital spending on agriculture,” he said.

He stressed that beyond increasing budgetary allocations, governments must ensure that agricultural funds are strategically deployed to areas capable of delivering the greatest impact.

Nwokoye said the analysis showed that many states allocated only about three per cent of their capital budgets to agriculture, while federal capital expenditure on the sector also remained below the level required to meet national and continental commitments.

He disclosed that the combined agricultural allocation by the 36 states and the FCT for 2026 stood at just 4.58 per cent, significantly below the 10 per cent benchmark contained in the Maputo, Malabo and Kampala declarations.

“As a country, we must act quickly, including through complementary budgets where necessary, if we are to meet these commitments,” he said.

Despite the low level of investment, Nwokoye said increased spending on agriculture could significantly expand employment opportunities across the country.

According to him, ActionAid’s projections indicate that if states fully implement their 2026 agricultural budgets, Nigeria could generate about 1.4 million direct quality jobs.

He added that projected federal government spending could create an additional 2.1 million direct jobs, bringing the total potential employment to about 3.5 million nationwide.

“Increasing investment would raise this figure significantly,” he added.

Nwokoye said the findings of the expenditure analysis would be forwarded to state governors to encourage stronger commitment to agricultural financing and improve returns on investment.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, described the Agrifood System Working Group as Nigeria’s technical platform for coordinating agricultural policies, monitoring implementation and ensuring that the country’s commitments translate into measurable results.

He said Nigeria’s food systems continue to face numerous challenges, including climate change, insecurity, post-harvest losses, inadequate infrastructure and limited access to finance, stressing that addressing them requires collaboration among government institutions, the private sector, research organisations and development partners.

Ogunbiyi said food sovereignty remains the central objective of Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda.

“Food sovereignty means Nigerians eating what we grow and growing what we eat. It means building a resilient food system that guarantees every citizen physical and economic access to safe, nutritious and affordable food,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Ms Dede Ekoue, described the launch of the strategy as a landmark achievement that places Nigeria at the forefront of implementing Africa’s agricultural transformation agenda.

She commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for leading what she described as an inclusive and consultative process that produced the strategy, noting that it aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Ekoue also praised the contributions of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, other federal ministries, state governments, development partners, the private sector, research institutions, civil society organisations, farmer groups, and women and youth organisations in developing the roadmap.

According to her, the strategy was developed in collaboration with major international development institutions, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), AGRA, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank.

She noted that Nigeria’s decision to domesticate the Kampala Declaration through a nationally owned framework provides a benchmark for other African countries seeking to translate continental agricultural commitments into practical national programmes.