From Abiodun Adewale, Ilorin
April 29, 2025
A coalition of agriculture-focused non-governmental organisations has urged the Kwara State Government to prioritise funding for the reduction of post-harvest losses in its 2025 budget, warning that the state records an estimated N94.5 billion loss annually due to poor handling and storage of farm produce.
The call was made on Tuesday during a press conference in Ilorin organised as part of a review of the 2025 agriculture budget. The event, supported by ActionAid Nigeria under the Scaling Up Public Investment in Agriculture (SUPIA) project, brought together 12 civil society organisations advocating for improved agricultural investment.
Speaking at the forum, Deputy Coordinator of the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Mrs. Modupe Suleiman, decried the lack of budgetary provision to address post-harvest challenges in the proposed fiscal plan.
“According to data from ActionAid Nigeria, Kwara loses N94.5 billion every year to post-harvest issues. Despite this, the 2025 budget contains no specific allocation to tackle the problem. This is deeply troubling, especially given the recent declaration of a state of emergency on food security by the President,” she said.
Suleiman also expressed concern over the declining budgetary allocation to agriculture in the state, noting that it fell from 1.49 per cent in 2024 to 0.97 per cent in 2025 — far below the 10 per cent benchmark prescribed by the Maputo and Malabo declarations to which Nigeria is a signatory.
She revealed that smallholder women farmers in the state face significant constraints, with only 26 per cent having access to processing facilities, 10 per cent to transportation, 21 per cent to markets, and 39 per cent receiving any form of training on reducing post-harvest losses.
The coalition further criticised the poor implementation of agricultural funding in the state, disclosing that only 37.3 per cent of the N15.6 billion allocated to the sector in 2024 was released and utilised.
Coordinator of the SUPIA project, Mr. Abdurrahman Ayuba, said the budget analysis was aimed at assessing the extent to which the proposed allocations align with the realities of farmers and the state’s broader food security goals.
“For six consecutive years, Kwara’s agriculture budget has failed to meet the 10 per cent benchmark. This persistent underfunding must be addressed if we are serious about supporting farmers and strengthening food systems,” Ayuba said.
The group recommended that all agriculture-related budget activities be managed directly by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure transparency, effective implementation, and accountability.
Participating organisations in the analysis included the Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE), Meadows Community and Development Outreach (MCDO), Worthy Life Education and Health Foundation (WLEHF), and Connected Development (CODE), among others.
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