The Small Scale Women Farmers Organization of Nigeria (SWOFON), and ActionAid Nigeria, has frowned at the 2025 Federal budget proposal to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food security.
Specifically, the President of SWOFON, Fatimah Gumi, at a press conference in Abuja, lamented that the budget proposal for agriculture in 2025, has a decline of 36.19percent.
According to her, the allocation to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security declined from a total of N996.901 billion in 2024 to N636.08 billion in the 2025 budget proposal.
Fatima Gumi who disclosed that her Association, (SWOFON) members make up 70 percent workforce in agriculture, stated that her Association had also embarked on advocacy visits both at the state levels and national and despite years of advocacy for increased funding to the agriculture sector, the federal government’s commitment remains far below the 10% target set by the Malabo declaration.
She criticised the federal government’s failure to prioritise agriculture, warning that the sector’s underfunding could threaten Nigeria’s food and nutrition security amid rising hunger and economic hardship which has become the flight of Nigerians.
The President of SWOFON further observed that the capital allocation for the FMAFS Headquarters has also been significantly reduced, from N886.65 billion in 2024 to N405.93 billion in 2025, raising concerns about the ministry’s capacity to implement key agricultural policies such as the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP).
Gumi and stakeholders at the press briefing queried the N3 billion allocated for office buildings under NADF, arguing that such funds should be redirected to more pressing agricultural interventions.
Gumi said the share of the total federal budget allocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (including the National Agricultural Development Fund) has sharply declined from 2.84% in 2024 to a mere 1.28% in the 2025 proposed budget.
She said, even when you add the allocation to the Federal Ministry of Livestock, the total agriculture sector budget only reaches N647.88 billion, which accounts for just 1.3% of the total federal government budget, a clear reflection of the insufficient prioritization of this critical sector.
She said the allocation for the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) in the 2025 budget proposal is N132.325 billion of which capital budget accounts for 99.61%, overhead accounts for 0.38% and personnel cost at 0.01%.
Also speaking, the Chairperson of COANSA, Rosemary Effiong said there is a need to increase the budget allocation to the FMAFS in the 2025 budget of the federal government of Nigeria.
She said the need for enhanced funding is also necessitated by the 1.28% of the total federal government budget committed to the sector against the 10% that is recommended by the Maputo Declaration.
“This will enhance the capacity of the Ministry to coordinate and support actions to attain food and nutrition security in Nigeria.
“There is a need for the FMAFS to ensure that planning for the sector is anchored on the NATIP policy. This will ensure a strong plan-budget link that will deliver on the overall goal for the sector, including attaining the SDG 2.
“The allocation to the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) should be increased as NADF is an important aspect of the NATIP and also vital for the overa
“Whereas every programme and project of the FMAFS should feed into the implementation of the NATIP, evidence from the projects and programme provided for in the 2025 budget proposal of the ministry shows only 34% alignment in this direction.
“There is a need for the FMAFS to ensure that planning for the sector is anchored on the NATIP policy. This will ensure a strong plan-budget link that will deliver on the overall goal for the sector, including attaining the SDG 2,” she said.
The groups however commended President Bola Tinubu for proposing an additional N1.5 trillion for the recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA), N500 billion for the Bank of Industry (BoI), and N380 billion for irrigation development through River Basin Development Authorities.
Meanwhile, they urged the government to ensure the timely and full release of funds, particularly for the Bank of Agriculture recapitalisation, which has faced repeated delays.
To address the shortfalls in the 2025 agriculture budget, SWOFON, COANSA, and ActionAid Nigeria called for an increase in the agriculture budget allocation to at least 10% of the national budget, in line with the Malabo Declaration putting into considerations the importance of Agriculture in the country.