A gaze at Tambuwal’s N14.96bn budget to Agric sector

The State of Punjab in India has about a population of 30 million people and its renowned agricultural hub of India nation which contributes to significant percentage of India’s food security and export earnings. The state boast of over 550,000 functional tractors in addition to modern farm equipments, improved seedlings that yield pumper harvest, pesticides, […]

The State of Punjab in India has about a population of 30 million people and its renowned agricultural hub of India nation which contributes to significant percentage of India’s food security and export earnings. The state boast of over 550,000 functional tractors in addition to modern farm equipments, improved seedlings that yield pumper harvest, pesticides, fertilizer and credit facilities schemes which has encourage and motivated larger proportion of its citizens to partake in agricultural activities all round year. Apart from its more than half a million tractors, Punjab State has countless harvester combines, reapers, threshers, seeders, rotavators and a handful of bore wells for irrigation farming and numerous warehouses where the harvested agricultural products are store. This feat has made Punjab State the “Wheat Bowl” of India by producing about 113, 81,270 tonnes in 2015 which is almost half of total wheat procured in the India. No wonder the state has apart from having one of the most fertile region on earth grows other important crop in the region includes, cotton, rice, maize and sugarcane. The global Hunger Index of 2014 rated Punjab as the State with the lowest level of hunger in India. The captivating aspect of tractors in Punjab is its abundance for farmer’s needs for agricultural activities which one tractor is for every 8.7 hectare of cultivated land compared with the national average of one per 100 hectares in our country. The tractors in Punjab State has dwarfs the total number of functional tractor in West African countries for agricultural purposes which is less than 150,000
The long term laxity faced by the agricultural sector in Nigeria can be traced to the negligence of the sector, poor budgetary allocation, absence of effective policies and continuity by the successive administrations. It’s disheartening that loans and intervention fund meant for the sector has end up in the bank account of those that are not interested in the development of the sector. Food security is a prerequisite that every nation must achieved before been ranked as economic growth and economic develop status. As of present, there is less than 5 functional combine harvester’s machine in Nigeria, less than 20,000 functional tractors and absence of improved seedlings which has greatly contributes to poor harvest, persistence scarcity of fertilizer, pesticide, absence of agricultural extension workers to educate farmers and the tough technicalities farmers face in assessing credit/intervention fund by the government. It’s very pathetic that a country like Nigeria which 3 of out 36 States are capable of meeting the consumption demand of Rice has turned to be one of the top importer of commodity in the world.
The recent report that features on the Daily Trust of 14th June 2016 will baffle many especially those that are passionate about the sector if our leaders are frank in investing in the sector, especially those from the North which their states are endowed with vast arable land. Countries like United States, Brazil, China, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Netherlands, France, India, Thailand, Australian, New-Zealand, South-Africa and Caribbean’s countries today has bubbling economic growth and major exporter of agricultural products.  In the said analysis of the Daily Trust, both FG and the states are to spend less than 2% of their entire federal and states budget of N12.2tr. While the federal government budgeted N77.80bn (1.6%) to agricultural sector; countries like Malawi, Zambia & Burundi, Mali & Niger and Sierra Leone are investing 27%, 10%, 13% and 3% in agriculture respectively.
The budget allocated to the sector by six-geopolitical zones for the 2016 illustrates that northwest has the highest of N60.18bn, the northeast  N24bn with a pledge to increase it to over N60bn, north central state’s N7.27bn, southeast states of Anambra and Enugu have earmarked only N2.32bn, Southwest State’s with only data from Ogun state budgeted N10.2bn and south-south region has a total budget of N10.94bn for agric sector (minus Delta and Cross River states) of its N1.6tr total budget. Taking into cognisance the significance of the sector to the economy and the country, the budgetary allocation by the various states to the sector indicates that they toyed in the same line with the federal government by allocating small percentage of their budget to the sector.
The most mesmerizing of all is the N14.96bn assigned to the sector by Sokoto State which is 19.3% and 24.90% of the entire budget earmarked to the sector by the federal government to the federal Ministry of Agriculture and the states of Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara, Jigawa and Kano Ministry of Agriculture respectively in their 2016 budget. The amount shows that Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is mindful of the significant role of the sector and its impact to the economy, especially with the challenging financial paucity been face by many States. In another comparison, Tambuwal’s budget of N14.96bn to agric sector supersedes the total amount budgeted to the same sectors by the states of Niger N2.53bn, Kogi N1.18bn, Plateau N3.32bn, Taraba N4.2bn and Adamawa N1.6bn respectively.
The foresight and the spirited step taken by Tambuwal’s administration for allocating significant percent of the budget to the sector should be appreciated. First, he has fulfils and heed to his campaign promise to electorates whom he assure that agricultural transformation will be a key area of his administration; secondly, the bold step he took demonstrate that he understand the viability of the sector as the catalyst for the economic growth and development and thirdly he is prepared to make his state a “Food Bowl” of Nigeria which will among other things lead to self-reliance, employment generation, food security, transfer of knowledge, increase in the State Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) and turn the state as a major exporter of agricultural products.
The knotty task ahead of Governor Tambuwal’s administration is to see the full implementation of the budget allotted to the sector in other to accomplish its aim. The administration should make available enough tractors, improved seedlings, fertilizer, insecticide and pesticides at affordable rate to the farmers. The role of agricultural extension officers should be employ to enable them sensitize farmers in the latest agricultural innovations. The administration should encourage production of livestock and poultry meat, aquaculture and catch fishery, cultivating of fresh fruits, vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, milk,  production; major spices, fibrous crops such as jute, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, staples such as millets, ginger, onions and castor oil seed.
Yahaya wrote from Muye, Niger State.