The ActionAid Nigeria has described as alarming the budgetary allocation given to agricultural sector of the economy by the Federal Government.

The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Dr Hussaini Abdu who stated this at the presentation of ‘Walking the Talk’ Report conducted by the organization, in Abuja, noted that the country’s commitment towards agricultural financing was declining on yearly basis.

 He explained that the Federal Government’s policy on agriculture is market oriented, centred on commercial farming, therefore, it is impracticable, because small scale farmers who are the base of the sector were not taken into consideration.

Dr. Abdu stated that the Nigerian federal government within five years 2007-11 has allocated an average of just 3.5 percent of the national budget to agriculture risking even greater hunger across the country.

He further revealed that the government budgeted 1.7 percent and 1.3 percent to agriculture in the years 2012 and 2013 respectively, expressing fear that the figure might be dropped in the future projection.

Rolling out the investment scale of African countries, Abdu disclosed that Ghana, Rwanda and Burundi with budgetary allocation of 9-10 percent, 10.2 percent and 10.9 percent respectively were only the countries that complied with the 2003 Maputo declaration, which pegged 10 percent of the country’s budget to agriculture to increase economy of the continent.

He noted that the federal and the state governments not only spend less on agriculture in the country; they were also inconsistent in their commitment, adding that agricultural funding is critical to poverty alleviation, and that, this must not be done without taking cognizance of small scale farmers who are mainly women.

Abdu maintained that government can find the money to increase agricultural spending by reducing wasteful spending, leakages and corruption and abolishing huge tax exemption given to companies.