ActionAid Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to urgently tackle the root causes of the ongoing farmer-herder conflict and reverse the declining budget allocation to agriculture, warning that inaction could worsen food insecurity and hinder national development.
Speaking in Lagos at the close of a three-day National Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2026 Agriculture Budget, ActionAid Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, criticised the government’s reactive approach to conflict and urged a shift toward long-term solutions.
“We recognise that the farmer-herder crisis is one of the factors affecting food production across the country. The core issue is access to scarce resources: land, feed, and water,” he said. “Farmers move in one direction during the dry season, herders in another, and paths cross in ways that spark conflict.”
Mamedu called for a national ranching strategy to reduce migration and prevent destruction of farmlands by grazing animals.
“Research has shown that cattle that are ranched produce better and make more money. The question is: Who takes responsibility for setting up ranches? That’s where government comes in,” he added.
He urged state governments to establish at least one ranch per senatorial district, with federal support to ensure nationwide coverage.
Mamedu also criticised the steep drop in agriculture’s share of the national budget—from 4.7% to 1.7% in the 2025 proposal.
“We must take this message to the President, the Minister of Finance, and other key stakeholders. This decline must not become the new norm,” he said.
He noted that ongoing advocacy efforts have led to better state-level budgeting for smallholder farmers and youth but stressed that more must be done.
“We’re getting results, but we can do way better. We must be bold enough to make agriculture a top national priority.”
In a joint communique issued after the meeting, ActionAid Nigeria and its partners—including the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Budget, ECOWAS, GIZ AgSys Nigeria, and civil society organisations—outlined a roadmap for reforming the sector.
The stakeholders insisted that agriculture must be placed at the heart of national planning, beyond political cycles, with strong presidential oversight to drive implementation and sustainability.
