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CSOs urge increased budgetary allocation to agric. sector in kogi

By Giwa SHILE

The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Committee on Public Funding of Agriculture (PFA) on Thursday, called on the Kogi House of Assembly to arrest the downsize of the state annual budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector.

Mrs Gift Owonipa, ActionAid Nigeria Project Manager in Kogi, made the call while  presenting PFA Analysis of the Draft 2019, Kogi State Agriculture Budget in Lokoja

It was at the on-going Ministerial Budget Defence at the Assembly.

Owonipa noted that as the Federal and State Governments were making efforts to reduce dependence on oil and diversify the economic mainstay, agricultural sector ought to have received increased budgetary allocation.

She said that the total 2018 revised budget for Agriculture in the state was N8.466 billion, representing 5.58 per cent of the N152.677 billion budget.

Owonipa said that out of the N146.736 billion 2019 budget presented to the State House of Assembly, N5.771 billion representing 4.31 per cent was allocated to the state agriculture sector.

“The allocation to agriculture in 2019 is a noticeable decrease from what accrued to the sector in 2018, below the 10 per cent benchmark of the Maputo Declaration.”

She said that in the 2019 budget, agriculture sector got the least allocation of 4.31 per cent, compared to other sectors such as Education with 15.7 per cent.

Other sectors he said were; Health with 8.6 peer cent and Works and Urban Development with 8.2 per cent.

“The trend analysis of percentage allocation shows the allocation to the sector of 6.4 per cent in 2014 dropped to 4.3 per cent in 2015 and then to its lowest point of 2.7 per cent 2016.

`There was an increase in 2017 to 5.58 per cent, a decrease to 4.53 per cent in 2018 and a further decrease to 4.31 in 2019.

Based on a 2.3 per cent growth rate of the 2006 population census, Kogi population in 2018 is expected to be 3,763,104.

“With a draft allocation of N6, 321, 932,366 to the Agriculture sector, the per capita investment will equal to N1, 679.98k. This gives a decrease of 37.87 per cent compared to 2018 per capital investment of N2, 703.90k.

“This literally means that in the Agricultural sector in 2019, Kogi government plans to spend N1, 679.98k on each person.

“This allocation is grossly inadequate, considering the current economic trend and depreciation in the value of the Naira,” she said.

The  Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Kehinde Oloruntoba said the sector could only access about N500 million from total allocation of over N7 billion in 2018, leaving the performance at about 4.8 per cent.

Oloruntoba, however, attributed the situation to “drastic shortfall in the revenue the government was expecting” but assured that actual release would improve in 2019.

Mr Aliyu Aku, Chairman of the House Standing Committee on Agriculture, assured that the House would do everything possible to increase the agriculture sector allocation.

Aku (PDP-Omala), a second-term legislator and former Deputy Speaker of the House, said everything would be done to ensure timely release of allocated funds for agricultural programmes and activities in 2019.

 

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