Senator Saliu Mustapha, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agricultural Production, Services & Rural Development, has presided over the joint 2025 budget defense sessions by the Senate and House Committees on Agricultural Production, Services & Rural Development.
The two-day session brought together distinguished senators, honourable members of the House of Representatives, directors of ministry departments, and heads of agencies to review the 2025 budget estimates for the agricultural sector and assess the performance of the 2024 budget.
Speaking during the session, Senator Mustapha who represents Kwara Central in the National Assembly, emphasized the importance of the agricultural sector in ensuring food security, economic stability, and rural livelihoods.
He expressed concern over the soaring prices of food and agro-produce across the country, highlighting the need for urgent attention to address these challenges.
Senator Mustapha noted that the projections by the World Food Programme, indicating that about 33.1 million Nigerians will face food insecurity in 2025, is a looming crisis that must be averted.
He stressed the need for adequate budgetary provisions to address the challenges facing the agricultural sector, including climate change, desertification, and other environmental pressures.
The senator also expressed concern over the ratio of allocation of capital expenditure to recurrent expenditure in the budget estimates, urging the committees to work together to ensure that the budget is tailored to meet the needs of the agricultural sector.
Senator Mustapha assured the committees’ readiness and commitment to work tirelessly to pass the 2025 budget.
