Domesticate agriculture promotion policy to ensure increase in food production

As part of effort to alleviate poverty and to increase food production in Ondo state, a call has gone to the state government to domesticate the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) of the Federal Government.

This call was made by the Justice Development and Peace Centre (JPDC),  Catholic Diocese, Ondo state, in conjunction with ActionAid while analysing the state 2017 budget and its impact on small scale farmers and women in agric business in the state.

The Chairman, Public Finance for Agriculture (PFA) Budget Committee, established by JDPC, Chief  Pius Akomolafe, commended the Ondo state government for increasing the budgetary allocation for agriculture in the 2017 budget, noting that what was budgeted for agriculture in the state between  2014 and 2017 was lower.

Akomolafe said that government gave priority to education and health between 2014 and 2017 while agriculture was relegated to the background saying with the government attention shifting to agriculture, food production will be on the increase in the state.

The PFA budget committee Chairman however suggested that a separate budget should be put in place for agriculture in the state in order to meet up with farming season.

The budget committee which was to carry out the Ondo state government 2017 agriculture budget allocation said that law should be put in place to enforce release of agric budget at an appropriate time, irrespective of change in government or political instability in the state.

The committee at the end of their budget analysis also frowned at the way the budget was being formulated, as its lacks bottom to top approach.

On the agriculture finance/credit, the committee suggested that government should provide platform for small scale farmers especially women in order to have access to credit facility to finance their farms in their various communities in the state.

The  committee therefore urged the state government to ensure proper implementation and monitoring of 2017 agriculture budget allocations.