From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has significantly boosted agriculture, surpassing all previous administrations through increased funding, new schemes, and enhanced farmer support.
Commissioner for Agriculture Alhaji Murtala Dabo, speaking at a quarterly ministerial press briefing, revealed that the 2025 budget allocates N74.2 billion to agriculture, representing 9.36% of the total budget. Of this, 97.7% is for capital projects, with only 2.3% for recurrent expenditure, emphasising long-term investments.
Dabo noted that the previous administration allocated just N1.48 billion in 2023, making the 2025 figure a 5,000% increase. “Collectively, the budgetary allocations to agricultural activities in the Ministries of Environment, Education, and Human Services have pushed the allocation to agriculture to over 12% of the 2025 budget, making Kaduna State the only subnational to meet and exceed the 10% Malabo Declaration benchmark,” he said.
The governor has distributed over 500 trucks of free fertiliser to verified smallholder farmers under the Agricultural Input Supply Support programme, described as “the largest agricultural input support programme in Kaduna’s history.”
Additionally, the ‘Tallafin Noma (A Koma Gona)’ initiative supported 69,000 smallholder farmers with quality maize seeds and agrochemicals during the rain-fed season.
Cooperatives received free implements, including 18-horsepower tillers, 18-horsepower 3-inch and 13-horsepower 2-inch solar-powered irrigation pumps, gasoline-powered water irrigation pumps, 30 bags of Urea and NPK fertilisers, motorised knapsack sprayers, and cartons of herbicides and pesticides to boost year-round farming.
Dabo noted mechanisation efforts: “Under macro-mechanisation, we have procured a fleet of tractors to enhance mechanisation. A new public-private partnership framework has been developed to operationalise these tractors via revived mechanisation hubs.” Private operators will hire these tractors to farmers at subsidised rates, with revenue used to acquire more, ensuring mechanisation reaches “all nooks and crannies of the state over the years.”
Kaduna is also developing the Agricultural Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) with Afrexim Bank support, the first of its kind in Northern Nigeria. The facility will complement the Special Agricultural Processing Zone, ensuring “our agricultural produce meets both domestic and international quality standards,” Dabo said, adding that the AQAC will enhance Kaduna’s competitiveness under the AfCFTA framework, enabling farmers and agro-industries to meet export and premium market standards.