AllocateÂ 10% of 2018 Budget to Agriculture, Women Farmers Tell Bauchi

Women farmers in Bauchi State have called on the state government to allocate at least 10 per cent of its budget to agriculture in the 2018 fiscal year in order to revitalise the economy of the state as well as create wealth and jobs to the teeming unemployed citizens.

The women made this call in a communique issued at the end of a one-day budget tracking meeting of women farmers organised by Fahimta Women and Youth Development Initiative (FAWOYDI)Â in collaboration with Actionaid Nigeria held in BauchiÂ Saturday.

According to the women farmers, the state allocated 4.32, 3.98, 7.05 and 4.65 per cents to the agricultural sector in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively “which were not sufficient considering the significance of food production especially now that the country was faced by food scarcity and inflation”.

”Bauchi StateÂ is an agrarian state with annual budget allocation which has stayed below five per cent benchmark for the past three years as against the Maputo and Malabo declarations that Nigerian government signed into, which allows government to allocate a minimum of 10 per cent of their annual budget to agriculture.Â

“In spite of all the discussions about how important the agriculture is to the economic growth and as an alternative source of revenue for Bauchi State, it’s yet to be accorded the right priority through resource allocation for its development for the past three years,” they lamented.

Details later…