By Temitope Musowo
A University Don from the Centre for Sustainable Development (CESDEV),University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Dr. Olawale Olayide has described poor policy implimentation has a hindrance to agricultural tranformation for shared prosperity in West Africa.
Dr. Olayide who was speaking as a facilitator at the just concluded maiden edition of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAs) People's Agriculture Budget Summit in Abuja, yesterday, lamented poor funding of agriculture in ECOWAS sub-region.
The 2-day summit which took place at the ECOWAS Building in Abuja was organised by ECOWAS Parliament Committee on Agriculture in conjunction with Oxfam, ActionAid, and Trust Africa, with the theme; "The State of Public Financing of Agriculture in ECOWAS Member States: Sustaining the CAADP Commitment".
During the event which coincided with the fourth legislature, 2nd ordinary session of the ECOWAS parliament in Abuja. Dr Olayide was speaking on the topic; "The State of Public Financing in ECOWAS Member States", said funding of agriculture was inadequate inspite of the sector's huge contributions to the GDP in ECOWAS sub-region.
"Few governments prioritise agriculture in their policies and spending to the extent that agriculture receives less than 10% of the national budgets in many countries, yet its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) is between 20 and 50%. It implies that ECOWAS Member States are not investing their financial resources where their potentials reside - in terms of comparative and competitive advantages",he lamented.
Dr. Olayide in his presentation took time to review agriculture policies that have public support with budgetary allocation and favor smallholders and women
in particular, he analysed government’s overall agriculture budget allocation
and expenditure while also analysing the trend and performance of nationa agriculture budgets and expenditure from 2014 to 2017.
He berated the government of ECOWAS Member States for not being committed to
the Malabo Declaration on accelerated agricultural growth and transformation for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods, which commits each Member State to allocate minimum of 10 percent of their annual national budgets to agriculture.
The development expert however, recommended that ECOWAS Members States have well- structured and articulated agricultural policy frameworks that are intended for accelerated agricultural growth and transformation for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods, including for smallholder farmers and women.
He added that Since 10 percent of annual budgetary allocation of annual budgets is the minimum, ECOWAS Member States should endure to increase this level of public investment in agriculture by providing complimentary funding mechanisms for catching up and for ensuring sustainable agricultural financing that would trigger the much needed agricultural growth and transformation for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods in the sub-region.
The summit was well attended by dignitaries representing ECOWAS parliament members of the agriculture, Budget &Finance, Legal and Judiciary and other parliamentarians ,representatives from the Federal Ministry of Agricultue,Budget & National Planning and Finance ,Senate and House Committee on Agric and Rural Development ,Appropriation, State Ministries of Agriculture in Nigeria ,CSOs,Women farmers and Farmers organisations, NGOs,Media partners and Development partners.
Other facilitators at the summit include; Blessing Akhile,ActionAid Nigeria, Constance Okeke, chairman organising committee from ActionAid Global secretariat, Ene Obi,Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Dr. FATMATA Seiwoh (ECOWAS).
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