Kaduna agric interventions are second to none – Commissioner

From:Femi Oyelola in Kaduna

Governor Uba Sani has increased funding, introduced new agricultural schemes, and has given more inputs to farmers than any government in the history of Kaduna State.

The governor has not only increased the budgetary allocation to the sector but has distributed free fertilizer and farm implements to farmers and their cooperatives in the last two years.

The Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Murtala Dabo, disclosed this at the quarterly ministerial press briefing held yesterday.

He pointed out that the amount earmarked for agriculture in the  2025  budget is N74.2 billion.

Alhaji Murtala pointed out that that amount   represents 9.36% of the total budget, adding that 97.7% of the agric sector budget was   earmarked  for  capital projects and  ‘’ only 2.3% was  allocated to recurrent expenditure, reflecting a strong emphasis on long-term, impactful investments.’’

The Commissioner pointed out that only N1.48 billion was allocated to agriculture by the previous government in 2023, adding that the N74.2 billion allocated for this year is ‘’an exponential growth of 5,000%.’’

‘’Collectively, the budgetary allocations to agricultural activities in the  Ministries of  Environment, Education and  Human Services have pushed the allocation to agriculture to over  12% of the 2025 budget,  making Kaduna State the only subnational to meet and exceed the 10% Malabo Declaration benchmark,’’ he disclosed.

He  further said that the Governor has distributed over 500 trucks of free fertilizer  to verified smallholder farmers under the Agricultural Input Supply Support,  ‘’the largest agricultural input support program in Kaduna’s history.’’