Funding Agriculture in Africa: eradicating hunger and poverty!

Appropriate funding of Agriculture in Africa and many developing nations remains the major challenge to the attainment of the MDG 1. Poverty and hunger continue to pose as stumbling block to socio-economic development in most countries in Africa, including Nigeria. With enormous number of programmes and regional cooperation, eleven years after the AU, Maputo declaration, the continent is yet to mobilize and align its developmental agenda with agriculture at the front burner. The Maputo 2003 recommendation and agreement of 10% budgetary allocation to agriculture by African countries is yet to have its full compliance. According to the 2014 CAADP report, only few African countries have attained the 10% while an average of 7% spending on agriculture was recorded. Nigeria agriculture, despite its giant strides and unprecedented achievements in the last 4 years could have done much more better if funding had been appropriate. The current efforts and successes recorded in the sector could be attributed to the strong commitment and honesty of purpose of the ‘driver’, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

    President Jonathan by a Rice Pyramid in Doma, Nassarawa State

 No nation could grow without the fundamentals of food security and poverty eradication. Food security, especially in the sub Saharan Africa must be at the front burner of every political leadership; because studies have blamed the general instability, wars, unrest e.t.c on hunger and poverty. Borrowing the statement credited to Dr. Jacques Diouf, the past Director General of FAO: 
            

                                    "No civilization, no continent, no self-respecting country can allow the food-

                                  Security of its people, to be ensured or decided by others; from the depths

                                  of history, great empires and affluent kingdoms have come and gone. But,

                                  if we look closely at what contributed to their demise, we would often

                                  see that the main cause was the failure to meet the basic needs of the

                                  People in particular food"

   I believe agriculture should be prioritized and given greater attention in terms of funding. The successive statutory allocations to the sector cannot but be described as paying "lip service" to diversifying the country's economic base. Feeding over 173 million population should not be solely from imports; neither should the provision of employment opportunities for the very active youth population and growing the economy from the non oil sector be put at the back burner of legislative concern.

The sector should not be out-sourcing or begging for additional funds as if it's not important.  I wonder why our legislators will seat and apportion such a meager amount to an all important sector as agriculture.  In the last 4 years, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, the percentage budgetary allocations to agriculture in Nigeria were 1.81%, 1.66%, 1.77% and 1.47% respectively and the total allocation for the 4years amounted to N309.1 billion. Whereas, an initiative such as the ‘Feed the Future’ from the United State government is committing as much as $3.5 billion,(N700billion) dollars to support 19 developing countries to eradicate hunger and poverty.

Hungry children in developing nations

This is just a portion of about $20 billion put together by the G8 countries. Food security, no doubt is about national security and sovereignty; hence it should not be toyed with. The question is how long do we expect the advanced world to continue to send help to us? as if we are 'infants', how long will they place our matters on the agenda of their meetings?, how long are we going to be on this path?, how long do we talk about 'potential' without greasing the oil of potential for rapid development? and how long will our leaders especially the legislators who mostly come from rural areas treat agriculture as non-issue? These questions are begging for answers and there is need for rethink; especially now that we have dwindled revenue from oil and devalued naira. This piece is directed at governments at both national and sub national levels. Nothing should be too much for the home government and other friends of the country to do for the nation to be self sufficient in food production. This is because no neighbouring or close country has the capacity in material and financial resources to absorb the people of Nigeria in case of natural disasters such as famine, (God forbid). The attention to agriculture and its funding should be reviewed and increased to meet the challenges of growth, if the country will still retain the present records of agriculture on GDP as well as her position as the largest economy in Africa. Some may want to raise the issue of subsidies in developed world, the WTO and the non competitive nature of African agriculture; but what exactly stops us from providing the same conducive environment too if there is true political will, coupled with adequate funding of the sector. Nigerian agricultural commodities could compete favourable in the world market if the conditions are set for the attainment of such goal. May God help us!