The Ebonyi State government has expressed its willingness to increase its budgetary provision for the agriculture sector in the 2023/2024 financial appropriation.
The last budgetary provision for the agriculture sector in Ebonyi was 2.3 per cent, but the state government yesterday assured of increasing it to 5 per cent for the 2023/2024 fiscal year.
The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Professor Emmanuel Echiegu gave the assurance on Monday while addressing an advocacy group, the United States Agency for International Development, USAID-Agric Budget Plus Cluster at the Old Government House, Abakaliki, State Capital.
The advocacy group whose members massively came out and moved around Abakaliki metropolitan area emphasized the need to increase the agric budget allocation to ensure food security, before storming the state government house.
Addressing the group, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief Timothy Nwachi who represented Prof Echiegu, noted that the State Governor, Chief Francis Nwifuru had mapped out the plan to boost agriculture, especially in the area of farming to ensure food security in the state.
Echiegu noted that the state government had ordered the immediate release of fertilizer and other incentives to farmers across the 13 council areas of the state freely to assist them in their farming
activities.
"I want to seize this opportunity to thank the organizers of this program and to thank USAID for the good works they are doing in Ebonyi State and Nigeria.
"Ebonyi by the latest statistics is among the six largest producers of rice in Nigeria. So, having achieved this, an increase in our Agric budget will help increase our capacity in not just rice production but in other agricultural products as long as farming is concerned.
“Again, God has blessed Ebonyi State with a very good fertile land and what we just need is the political will which is where government needs to come in. How can this political will be achieved? It’s by increasing the State’s Agric budgetary allocation including that of the Federal government.
“But good enough, we have a governor who knows what it takes to do farming. Let me inform you that our working governor has already improved our method of farming here.
"The governor has directed the Commissioner for Agriculture to move into Ebonyi State fertilizer blending plant to ensure massive production of fertilizer for onward distribution to farmers in all the local government areas of the State.
"And the report reaching us is that some of the local government areas have commenced distribution of the fertilizer to farmers. All of these are some of the efforts the governor has started putting in place to ensure that we remain on the top list as far as Agricultural activities are concerned.
“So, adding the 2.7 per cent as being canvassed by you is not too difficult to implement. Let me also note that this campaign came at the right time because in no distance time, the circular for budget preparation will be released and it’s at that point that this increment can be made. It’s not when the budget is already in the hands of the House of Assembly or when it’s already with the State executive council.
“So, what it means is that God touched you people at the right time and you people have been able to meet the right people, the government. So, your message has been well received. The document that was handed over to me, we will sit down and look at it critically to assist the government in making a decision.”
Earlier, the Cluster Lead Coordinator of the group in Ebonyi State, Mrs Nancy Oko-Onya, who doubles as the lead Director, of Neighborhood Initiative for Women Advancement (NIWA) said that the Agric budget plus cluster is a process that her members used to ask the Ebonyi state government to increase the Agric budget from 2.3 to 5 per cent.
“We are taking to ask the three states that are benefiting from the project to increase the Agric budget of the different states but specifically in Ebonyi State. We are asking the Ebonyi State government to increase the Agric budget of Ebonyi State from 2.3 per cent to 5 per cent. That means an additional 2.7 per cent."
Oko-Onya collaborated with another leader of the group, Eni Elechi, who said: "Why are we asking for this? To increase agric practice, and Agric output, and to reduce hunger, poverty and malnutrition in the state.
"And all we are doing is, engaging with different stakeholders to also lend their voices to this. We have met with Commodity groups, we have met with students, we have met women's organizations and we have also met with government stakeholders, asking for the same thing,” she explained.
Recall that the USAID Scale Agric Project championed advocacy awareness in partnership with Palladium alongside CAD Consulting Limited, Neighbourhood Initiative for Women Advancement, Vicar Hope Foundation, CYDI, and Cara.
