Assessment of local government status of funding for agricultural sector in Rivers State (2005-2010)

Abstract

The study assessed Local Government (LG) status of funding for agricultural sector in Rivers state from 2005 to 2010. Data for the study were obtained from secondary sources. Secondary data were collected from LG annual budgets, Human Rights Watch and the Nigerian Tide publications of monthly allocations in Rivers state to elicit information on annual budget to agricultural development and monthly allocation to LG from the Federal Government. Nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) were proportionately and randomly selected from twenty three LGAs in the state comprising 6 uplands and 3 coastal areas. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics. The LGA that budgeted and spent the highest amount on agricultural development out of the 9 LGAs surveyed was Khana LGA with 6.15% out of an average annual allocation of N108,200,000 followed by Bonny LGA who received an average annual allocation of N125,296,666.67 and spent N472,750.00 representing 4.53% on agricultural development. It was therefore recommended that for the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) to make the required impact on the rural people, enough funds have to be allocated to the sector by LGCs. A minimum of 20% annual budget allocation should be assigned to the sector annually, not just allocated on paper but also actually spent on the sector. Keywords: Local Government, Funding status, Agricultural Sector