Minister Calls for 10% Budget Allocation to Agriculture Across Africa
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has called on African governments to significantly increase investment in agriculture, urging that at least 10 percent of national budgets be allocated to the sector to strengthen food security and drive economic transformation across the continent.
Speaking at the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty, and Values on Thursday, June 4, Mr. Opoku said agriculture remains underfunded despite its central role in employment, food supply, and industrial development.
He stressed that although African countries committed under the Maputo Declaration of 2003 and later reaffirmed under the Kampala Declaration, to dedicate a minimum of 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture and rural development, implementation has been weak and inconsistent.
“Under these frameworks, our governments pledged to allocate at least 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture and rural development as a means of unlocking the continent’s vast agricultural potential and accelerating economic transformation,” he said.
However, he noted that the reality across many countries falls far below this target, with some allocating less than one percent of their national budgets to agriculture.
In certain cases, he added, allocations range between two and three percent, while others reportedly commit as little as 0.6 percent, describing the trend as grossly inadequate for a sector that supports the majority of Africa’s workforce.
“Such levels of investment are grossly inadequate for a sector that employs the majority of Africa’s workforce, feeds its population, and holds the key to industrialisation, poverty reduction, and economic growth,” Mr. Opoku stated.
He argued that insufficient funding continues to limit productivity gains, constrain value addition, and slow down efforts to modernise agriculture across the continent, despite Africa’s vast arable land and agricultural potential.
The Minister also called on African parliaments to play a stronger oversight role in ensuring that governments meet their commitments to the sector. He said legislative institutions must ensure that agricultural spending is not only approved on paper but fully implemented and effectively monitored.
“This is where African parliaments must rise to the occasion. Parliaments have a constitutional responsibility to exercise oversight over public expenditure and government policy implementation,” he said.
Mr. Opoku urged lawmakers to hold executives accountable for budgetary commitments and ensure that agriculture receives the necessary attention to drive national development.
“They must scrutinise budgets, monitor implementation, and insist that agriculture receive the attention and resources necessary to drive national development,” he added.
The Minister’s remarks come amid growing continental discussions on food security, import dependence, and the need to transform agriculture into a more productive, commercialised, and investment-driven sector capable of supporting Africa’s long-term economic growth.
