Ebonyi Mulls Increasing Budgetary Allocation To Agriculture

The Ebonyi State Government says it would carefully consider increasing the budgetary allocation to Agriculture to five per cent in the 2024 budget.
The State’s Governor, Francis Nwifuru,  said this when he received stakeholders in Agriculture, who were on a sensitisation road walk to the Old Government House in Abakaliki.
The stakeholders were led on the walk by members of the Agriculture Budget Plus Cluster (ABPC).
Nwifuru, who was represented by Mr Timothy Nwachi, his Deputy Chief of Staff, said the sensitisation campaign was commendable, given the need for food security.
He noted that currently in the 2023 fiscal year, 2.3 per cent was allocated to the Agricultural Sector.
The Governor said an increase in agricultural budgetary allocation would help the state to improve its capacity to increase production in rice and other agricultural produce.
He said: “By the latest release from the National Bureau of Statistics, Ebonyi ranked fourth largest producer of rice among the rice-producing states in Nigeria.
“Having achieved this feat, an increase in agricultural budget will help the state to further improve on its capacity in terms of not just rice production but in other agricultural produce.
“I can only say I’m standing here on behalf of the Ebonyi State Government to tell you that your message has been well received and that the document that has been handed over to me, we will sit down and look at it critically”.
Nwifuru reiterated the preparedness of the State Government to do everything possible to ensure food availability, adding that agriculture would also be given it’s right of place
He said his government was committed to sustaining the tempo on agricultural production.
He stated that increasing budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector would not only boost rice production but would also help the state to improve other aspects of farm production.
Earlier, Mr Eni Chima, the Team Lead and Programme Manager of the Agriculture Budget Plus Cluster, in his address, thanked the state government for granting the group an audience.
Chima said the road walk was designed to sensitise the public on the importance of engaging in agriculture,  as well as crave the indulgence of the government on the need to increase allocation to the agricultural sector by five per cent.