Concerns are mounting over Nigeria’s proposed 2026 agriculture budget, after several farmers’ groups and civil society organisations raised questions about what they describe as ambiguous, unclear, and in some cases creatively imaginative budget lines.
The groups made their concerns known during a media conference in Abuja, noting that some projects listed under the agriculture budget appear to have little or sometimes absolutely nothing to do with farming or food systems.
Out of the N58.47 trillion proposed national budget for 2026, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is expected to receive N1.45 trillion, about 2.48% of total government spending.
But according to ActionAid Nigeria, the Community of Agriculture Non-State Actors, Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria, and Young Farmers in Nigeria, the allocation raises more questions than it answers.
The groups say the government is still falling short of its commitments under the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security, the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation, and the Kampala Declaration on Agricultural Transformation-continental agreements that encourage African countries to devote a larger share of their budgets to agriculture.
They warn that the shrinking share of funding could weaken the sector’s ability to drive economic growth and address Nigeria’s worsening food insecurity.
The analysis also highlighted what critics describe as logistical adventures in the budget.
For instance, research institutes are reportedly planning to distribute farm inputs to farmers in states well outside their operational jurisdictions-arrangements the groups say may require not just tractors and fertiliser, but possibly a very good GPS.
The review further reveals that several Ministries, Departments and Agencies – without any formal agricultural mandate – have allocations to distribute farm inputs.
Observers say this raises the intriguing possibility that, somewhere in government, an office that once processed paperwork may soon be cultivating maize.
Even more puzzling are some constituency projects listed under the agriculture budget. According to the groups, several projects appear unrelated to farming, while others are so vaguely described that implementation may require a degree of interpretation usually reserved for poetry.
One example cited involves a research institute in Niger State budgeting to supply inputs to farmers in Rivers State – an initiative critics say could become the agricultural equivalent of long-distance relationship management.
The analysis also examined funding for the National Agricultural Development Fund, which is set to receive N94.65 billion in the proposed budget.
Of that amount, N94.14 billion is allocated for capital projects, while N514 million is earmarked for recurrent expenditure. However, the groups say nearly 94% – about N89.09 billion – is concentrated in a single initiative, the Renewed Hope Fertiliser Support Programme.
Meanwhile, allocations to programmes under the National Agrifood Systems Investment Plan and the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy have dropped by 15.26%, declining from N10.497 trillion in 2025 to N8.896 trillion in the proposed 2026 budget.
The groups warn that reduced funding—combined with the long-standing problem of delayed budget releases—could undermine Nigeria’s economic growth ambitions. They argue that without timely and properly targeted spending, the country’s long-term food security goals may remain just that: goals.
According to the organisations, meaningful progress will depend on stronger investments in agricultural extension services, improved access to credit, and greater support for women and young people working in the sector.
Until then, they say, Nigeria’s farmers may continue to wait—sometimes patiently, sometimes not—for the budget to bear fruit.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
