Fifteen Nigerian states spent less than half of their approved agriculture capital allocations in 2025, down from 18 in 2024 and 22 in 2023, the Community of Agrifood Systems Non-State Actors (COANSA) said at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, October 19, 2026, the News Agency of Nigeria reported. COANSA is a coalition of 31 organisations working in agrifood systems.
The group said poor spending persisted even as agricultural capital allocations rose between 2023 and 2026. Dr Nkiruka Okonkwo, COANSA's Co-Founder and Financial Director, said most states and the Federal Capital Territory spent less than half of their approved capital budgets over the three years.
Jobs and Revenue at Stake
Effective implementation of agriculture budgets could create more than 3.5 million direct jobs, COANSA said, BusinessDay reported. The group also estimated that better spending could raise states' internally generated revenue by between 6.22% and 618%, depending on the state.
"The future we seek cannot be achieved through promises alone," Okonkwo said, according to BusinessDay. She said this year's World Food Day theme, "Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow," demands a shift away from business as usual.
Ten Percent Target
The coalition urged governments to meet the African Union target of at least 10% of public expenditure on agrifood systems under the CAADP Kampala Declaration for 2026 to 2035, and to publish a credible plan to finance it. It said compliance "should be measured by the amount of money released and spent effectively, rather than by approved budget allocations alone," NAN reported.
COANSA also called for annual public reports on agricultural allocations, spending, outputs and outcomes, a CAADP focal point in every state and the FCT, and more investment in smallholder farmers, women, young people and persons with disabilities. Okonkwo named agroecology, research, irrigation, labour-saving technology, digital services and post-harvest loss reduction as priority areas.
Spending Well Below Benchmark
A separate stakeholder meeting on the 2027 agrifood budget in Lagos estimated public agricultural spending by the federal government, 36 states and the FCT at 4.58% of budgets in 2026, Daily Trust reported on August 10, 2026. That meeting estimated that about 98% of the National Agricultural Development Fund's 2026 capital allocation went to fertiliser programmes, and proposed a ₦3.30 trillion agrifood shadow capital budget for 2027.
Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari told states earlier this month to align their budgets with national priorities under the same Kampala framework, ThisDay reported.
FoodPrices Nigeria tracks staple food prices across Lagos markets. Farm budgets that are spent rather than left unused are one factor in how much food reaches those markets, and at what price.
Editor Notes (do not publish): The 6.22% to 618% revenue range is reported by both BusinessDay and NAN, but the upper figure looks implausibly high and may be a typo in COANSA's materials; consider cutting it or checking with COANSA. COANSA's underlying analysis was not published as a named report I could open. The Daily Trust article is from August 10, 2026 and covers a different meeting; it is dated in the text.