ActionAid Nigeria and 3 other farmers organisations have expressed concerns over the allocation of 94.7percent of the proposed 2026 budgetary allocations of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) to the Renewed Hope Fertilizer Support Programme (RH-FSP).

The farmers organisations under the aegis of Community of Agriculture Non-state Actors (COANSA), Young Farmers in Nigeria (YoFiN) and the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) raised concern that of N94.65billion allocated for capital projects, N89.01 was allocated to the Renewed Hope fertiliser initiative.

The representative of the organisations who spoke differently during a budget analysis presentation to the journalists yesterday in Abuja noted that while fertilizer support is important, the disproportionate spending of the 94.7 percent of the budget on one input risks undermining the broader Renewed Hope Agenda of the President and fails to address the multiple structural constraints facing smallholder farmers.

The groups however strongly recommend that the allocation to RH-FSP be reduced to N10 billion, with the remaining funds redirected toward other critical and high-impact areas that offer more sustainable, inclusive, and long-term benefits.

They highlighted other areas requiring urgent support to include expanding access to affordable credit, targeted support for women in agriculture and youth in agriculture, scaling appropriate labour-saving technologies, providing diverse inputs beyond fertilizer, and investing in post-harvest loss reduction measures such as processing and storage facilities,

Others are farmer trainings, improved market access, strengthening agricultural extension services, adding that greater resources should be committed to irrigation development and the promotion of Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA)/Agroecology, which are essential for building resilience against climate shocks and ensuring food security.

They maintained that a more balanced and diversified investment approach will deliver stronger outcomes, improve accountability, and maximize the developmental impact of NADF’s budget.

The farmers organisations also decried the decline in budgetary allocations from 4.62percent in 2025 to 2.59 percent i in the proposed 2026 budget.

They said given that Nigeria’s economy is projected to grow by 4.7percent in 2026 and 6percent in 2027 it is imperative that agriculture receives timely and adequate financial support to drive this anticipated rebound.

The groups also emphasized that agriculture intervention programme across Ministries, departments and agencies is chronicled in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Livestock Development for effective oversight and coordination

They emphasized that Nigeria will be unable to attain sustainable food and nutrition security unless agricultural financing is strategically targeted and released in a timely manner to address the sector’s most critical constraints.

They stated that fragmented, delayed, or poorly prioritized funding will continue to weaken productivity, limit resilience, and exacerbate hunger and malnutrition across the country.

“It is therefore strongly recommended that government and relevant institutions ensure that public agricultural investments are properly focused, adequately resourced, and effectively implemented in the following high-impact priority areas essential for inclusive economic growth and food systems transformation: ” they stated. (The Guardian)

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