By Meletus EZE
The Kebbi State Coordinator, Oxfam International, Mr Olumide Ojo, on Monday commended the state government for committing 10 per cent of its annual budget to agriculture sector.
Ojo gave the commendation during a news conference to commemorate the 2018 World Food Day in Birinin Kebbi.
Oxfam is an internationalconfederation of 20 NGOs working with partners in over 90 countries to end the injustices that cause poverty.
“Kebbi government has been consistently committing over10 per cent of its annual budget to the agriculture sector, from 2016 to 2018.
“The state government voted N12.5 billion out of a budget of N109.7 billion to agriculture in 2018.
“In 2017, it voted over N14 billion out of budget of N139.3 billion to the same sector.
“Budgetary allocation to the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector for 2015 represents 11.4 per cent while that of 2016 represents 10.1 per cent,’’ he said.
The Oxfam coordinator said agricultural investment in the state had also recorded achievement, adding that the state was also noted for increased yearly agricultural production, especially in rice, wheat, sorghum and maize.
He also lauded the level of the state government commitment which he said had attracted investment from the public and private sectors to the state.
Ojo explained that Oxfam International and Development Exchange Centre (DEC), with support from the European Union, EU, were working with government and non-governmental stakeholders to promote food security.
The coordinator said the joint effort was also to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable populations in communities.
He said that a study carried out in selected rural communities in the state in March 2017 by Oxfam revealed that not less than 67 per cent of people living in rural communities had no food security.
Ojo added that the people concerned were those whose livelihoods were in agriculture and other resources-based activities.
“More worrisome is the fact that women and young people constitute over 42 per cent of those mostly affected by the ugly manifestation of food and nutrition in rural areas,’’ he said.
Ojo urged the Federal, States and Local Governments to develop and implement specific policies that would boost agricultural production and strengthen agriculture resilience, in the face of uncertain weather and climatic variables.
“To achieve zero hunger, the stakeholders must work together to raise the level of awareness about hunger, starvation and malnutrition, especially as it affects the rural population in Africa.’
