Muhammad Jamil Abubakar
Civil society CSOs groups and agricultural advocates have expressed strong concern over the Gombe State Government’s 2025 agriculture budget, describing it as inadequate, inconsistent, and lacking critical support for smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth.
At a press briefing in Gombe organized by the Small Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON) and the Gombe State Budget Committee Group (BCG), with support from ActionAid Nigeria’s SUPIA project, stakeholders criticized the 3.6% allocation to agriculture far below the 10% benchmark set by the Maputo and Malabo Declarations.
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The Chairman of the Gombe State Budget Committee, Yusuf Yahaya Atiku described agriculture as the backbone of the state’s economy and lamented the persistent underfunding of key areas.
“This is about more than numbers it’s about lives and livelihoods. Critical sectors like mechanization, farm inputs, and climate resilience continue to face neglect,” he said.
The budget review revealed several concerning trends including allocation for smallholder women farmers dropped from ₦50 million in 2024 to ₦30 million in 2025, the ₦100 million earmarked for mechanization in 2024 was never released and has now been removed, Youth in agriculture remains at ₦20 million, with no evidence of utilization in prior years, and no provisions were made for agricultural credit, irrigation, post-harvest loss reduction, research and development, or climate-resilient farming.
The SWOFON Gombe State Coordinator, Airudia Mamman, emphasized that continued decline in agricultural funding threatens food security, poverty reduction, and rural development.
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“This budget does not reflect the reality of farmers, especially women who produce the bulk of our food,” she said.
However, stakeholders welcomed some positive developments, the allocation for agricultural extension services saw an increase from ₦5 million in 2024 to ₦40 million in 2025 for mobility and communication tools, yet, no funds were provided for training or recruiting extension agents.
The Executive Director of Hope Foundation for the Lonely, Sarah A. Yapwa also noted that while fertilizer subsidies remain at ₦1 billion, other farm input funding dropped from ₦30 million to ₦25 million, and there is no dedicated support for organic fertilizers.
The organizations called on the Gombe State Government to increase agricultural funding to meet the 10% Maputo Declaration benchmark, ensure full, timely, and transparent implementation of allocated funds, restore and expand budget lines for mechanization, post-harvest loss reduction, and climate-smart agriculture, Institutionalize monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and strengthen stakeholder engagement and legislative oversight for better transparency and accountability.
The briefing concluded with a call for collaborative action among government, civil society, and the media to address the gaps and prioritize agriculture as a driver of economic stability and food security in the state.15-4-2025.