The Kaduna State Government has taken a significant step to boost agriculture in the state by increasing funding and introducing new schemes to support farmers.
The Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Murtala Dabo, at a quarterly ministerial press briefing on Thursday, said the state has allocated N74.2 billion to the agricultural sector in the 2025 budget, representing 9.36% of the total budget.
“This is an exponential growth of 5,000% compared to the N1.48 billion allocated to agriculture by the previous government in 2023.
“We are committed to ensuring that our agricultural sector is well-funded and supported to drive economic growth and food security in the state,” Dabo said.
The Commissioner noted that 97.7% of the agric sector budget is earmarked for capital projects, while only 2.3% is allocated to recurrent expenditure, reflecting a strong emphasis on long-term, impactful investments.
He added that under the current administration, the state government has distributed over 500 trucks of free fertilizer to verified smallholder farmers under the Agricultural Input Supply Support, which is the largest agricultural input support programme in Kaduna’s history.
Additionally, he said, 69,000 smallholder farmers were supported with quality maize seeds and agrochemicals during the rain-fed season under the ‘Tallafin Noma (A Koma Gona)’ initiative.
“This allocation is a testament to our commitment to developing the agricultural sector and ensuring that our farmers have the necessary resources to thrive.
“We believe that agriculture is the backbone of our economy, and we are committed to supporting our farmers with the necessary inputs and resources to increase productivity and food security.
“Our goal is to make Kaduna State a major player in the agricultural sector and contribute to the nation’s food security,” he added.
According to him, the government has also distributed free agricultural implements and inputs to cooperatives, including tractors, solar-powered irrigation pumping machines, and fertilizers.
He also said a new public-private partnership framework has been developed to operationalize these tractors via revived mechanization hubs, which would be purely private sector-driven but will be hired to farmers at highly subsidized rates.
“The scheme will be sustainable, and revenue acquired from these private operators will be used to acquire more tractors. This will ensure that there is a penetration of this mechanization to all nooks and cranny of the state over the years,” he said.
Furthermore, the Commissioner continued that the state is developing the Agricultural Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) with the support of the AfreximBank, which will ensure that agricultural produce meets both domestic and international quality standards.
“The AQAC will enhance Kaduna’s competitiveness in the global market, particularly under the AfCFTA framework,” Dabo said while adding that “this means that our farmers and agro-industries will not only produce more but will produce better—meeting the highest standards required for export and premium markets.”