The Niger government has allocated N4.037 billion (N4,037,817,627.05) to the state agriculture sector in the 2022 budget estimate and proposed N70 million to provide gender friendly equipment for women and youth farmers.
Dr Idris Gbogan, Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed this on Wednesday in Minna, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Gbogan said that the measure would encourage women and youths to participation in agriculture as a business to create jobs and wealth.
“The Niger state government will continue to encourage agriculture to be the bedrock of our policy thrust of self-sufficiency as basis for development.
“That is why agriculture has a total allocation of N4,037 billion to enable us harness the vast agricultural potentials to turn the state economy.
“Towards this end, the sum of N70 million out of the N4.037 billion has been proposed for the procurement of women and youth-friendly equipment to encourage the engagement and participation of women and youths in agriculture,” he said.
He said that another N70 million would be utilized for the development of farm institute in Tegina, Rafi Local Government Area of the state.The Permanent Secretary explained that in the past, government had allocated inputs such as fertilizers and improved seeds to farmers but noted that they could not utilise heavy-duty equipment such as tractors.
“We discovered that over time, the state government has been purchasing tractors on annual basis but the youths and women have not been benefiting from the equipment because they are heavy-duty machines that they cannot operate.
“Therefore, the 2022 budget will enable us to purchase power tillers, hand-weeders, hand harvesters and hand-planters, among others,” he said.
He said that government has not decided whether the farmers would rent the equipment at subsidized rates or get them for free.Gbogan said that the budget document captured provision of inputs and training for the smallholder farmers and also links them to off-takers to enable them get value for their farm produce.
Reacting, Mrs Grace Disa, the state Coordinator, Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON), lauded government’s efforts at including the youths and women farmers in the budget.“We thank the state government for recognizing us, we pray that the funds will be released and the equipment purchased for the youths and women farmers,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, on November 4, 2021 (Thursday), presented an budget estimate of N198.245 billion (N198, 245,654,759.75) for the year 2022 against the N153.512 billion (N153, 412,621,776.47) for the year 2021 to the State House of Assembly.
The budget represents an increase of 12.75 per cent or N44,830,032,983.28 compared to the budget of 2021 of N153, 412,621,776.47.
NAN recalls that Disa was sad when she found out that no funds were allocated to the women farmers in March this year.Disa had gone to the state Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to request for a copy of the budget, she wanted to find out the allocation for women farmers.
“They explained to me that the state government did not allocate funds to the women farmers,” she said.This, she believes, is the consequence of not carrying women farmers along in formulating policies or preparing the budget on agriculture in the state.
In June this year, Gbogan confirmed to NAN that there had been no budgetary provision for smallholder women farmers in the past but for all farmers in the state, including the women.
“We don’t have any special provision for the SWOFON in terms of budgetary allocation.
“What we do is that we allocate funds to all the agricultural activities involving both male and female together,” he said. (NAN)
