Buhari asks African leaders to increase budgetary allocation to agric sector

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged African leaders to show political will and recommit themselves to transforming agriculture on the continent.

Buhari made the call on Wednesday in Senegal in his goodwill message at the feed Africa summit of heads of state and government.

In a statement by Femi Adesina, his spokesperson, Buhari encouraged his counterparts to adopt innovative policies that ensure people on the continent consume what they produce and export the excess.

With rising inflatin globally and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on up food prices, Buhari listed measures that African leaders must take to change the status quo.

‘‘Feeding Africa is an imperative. We must ensure that we feed ourselves today, tomorrow, and well into the future,” he said. 

“The starting point is to raise agricultural productivity. This requires the access of farmers to quality farm inputs, especially improved seeds, and fertilizers and mechanisation.

‘‘To succeed, we must strongly support farmers. There is no doubt that we need to subsidise our farmers, but we must do so in ways that are transparent, remove rent-seeking behavior and effectively deliver support to farmers.

‘‘The share of budget allocation to agriculture should be increased across Africa, especially for investments in critical public goods, such as research and development, infrastructure, especially roads, irrigation, and energy.

‘‘As leaders, let us decisively ensure that we meet the 10 percent allocation of our budgets to agriculture as agreed in the Malabo Declaration of the African Heads of State and Government.”

Buhari also called on African leaders to reduce the rate of rural-to-urban migration through the development of rural areas.

He also said encouraging more young people to enter the agricultural industry and making it appealing to them would be crucial to the future of agriculture in Africa.

‘‘To feed Africa, we need younger male and female farmers. We must also ensure that they get access to land, finance, technologies, information, and markets,” he said.

Buhari, therefore, requested that the food and agriculture delivery compacts arising from the summit must address ways to improve empowerment of the youth and women in the sector.