Kwara’s Agricultural Future: Legislative Support for Farmers & Food Security

The Kwara House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Food Security has pledged collaboration with agriculture-related Civil Society Organisations(CSOs) and women farmers to ensure food security in the state.

The committee pledged on Wednesday while receiving the CSOs under the umbrella of the Budget Committee Group(BCG) on an advocacy visit and the presentation of the 2025 agriculture budget analysis report.

The committee’s chairman, Mrs Ayi Olatundun, said the committee was ready to partner and support NGOs in the state to ensure that agriculture thrived well.

She said the legislative body was ready to explore all opportunities in areas that would benefit the people they were elected to serve.

The lawmaker representing Ilorin North-West constituency said the present administration would not relent in its efforts toward the overall development of agriculture in the state, which has already recorded significant progress.

Also, Mr Muhammed Kareem Musa, representing Patigi Constituency, advised the BCG to channel its observations and recommendations through the Ministry of Agriculture.

He said, going by the thorough analysis done by the group, they needed to present their observations during the yearly budget engagement for their observations to be noted.

Another member of the committee, Mr Yinusa Oniboki, representing Afon Constituency, said as a way of support for farmers in the state, the House had just passed into law the Water User Association Bill.

Oniboki said the bill, among other provisions, would help farmers engage in irrigation, thereby promoting all-season farming without having to rely solely on rainfall

Earlier, Mr  Abdurrahman Ayuba, a member of the BCG and Coordinator of Scaling Up Public Investment in Agriculture (SUPIA), said the government should be deliberate in increasing budgetary allocations to smallholder women farmers.

Ayuba added that this was imperative as the women farmers were the producers of food for consumption and not exporting like their male counterparts.

He said the BCG, after analysing the 2025 budget, discovered that this year’s allocation to agriculture was lower than that of 2024, which itself was already below the 10 per cent benchmark set by the Maputo Declaration.

Ayuba called for an increase in budgetary allocations to research and development, citing their vital role in enhancing the agricultural value chain.

He stressed that investing in R&D would lead to innovation, improved productivity, and sustainable agricultural practices.

In addition, Ayuba emphasized the need for inclusive agriculture budget planning, urging that smallholder women farmers with disabilities be deliberately included to ensure they could contribute meaningfully to the sector.

Also speaking, Mrs Modupe Suleiman, a member of the BCG and Deputy Coordinator of the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), appealed to lawmakers to prioritise issues affecting women farmers.

She advocated for women-friendly farming equipment and improved access to credit facilities, crucial for boosting productivity and supporting rural livelihoods.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the BCG is a coalition of agriculture-focused civil society organisations that conduct annual analyses of the state’s agriculture budget.

The initiative is part of an ActionAid Nigeria project under the SUPIA programme, involving 12 participating organisations across the state. (NAN)