The Federal Government of Nigeria has allocated N785 million under the 2025 budget of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for vocational training and empowerment schemes for hairdressers, barbers and small-scale urban businesses.
These projects have little or no connection to the ministry’s core agricultural responsibilities.
One of the listed items, titled “Training and Empowerment of Hairdressers in Ilorin West/Asa Federal Constituency, Kwara State”, got a N100 million allocation.
FIJ’s review of the original budget proposal submitted by the ministry to the National Assembly shows that this project was not included in the executive draft.
Ilorin West/Asa is part of Kwara Central, which is represented by Senator Saliu Mustapha (APC) who is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture Production, Services and Rural Development.
Another N500 million was approved for a project titled “Supply of Vectar Eco Midi for Empowerment to Barbers, Hairdressers and Other SMEs in Ogun West and Other Locations in Geo-Political Zones (Multiple Lots)”.
Like the first, this project was absent from the original proposal and was likely added during the appropriation process. Ogun West is represented by Senator Solomon Adeola (Yayi), a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
A third project, titled “Provision of Supports for Hairdressers and Unemployed in Lagos Constituencies”, gets a N185 million allocation.
In total, the agriculture ministry is spending N785 million on initiatives related to hairdressing, barbering and SME support in the 2025 budget.
All three items fall under the ministry’s capital expenditure vote, even though the Ministry of Agriculture is tasked with improving food security, boosting farm productivity and supporting rural livelihoods.
The ministry originally proposed a budget of N636 billion for 2025, with N480 billion earmarked for capital projects.
However, the final approved budget shows a considerable increase, bringing the ministry’s total allocation to N2.22 trillion, with N2.06 trillion set aside for capital spending.
The increase followed a supplementary budget introduced by President Bola Tinubu in January.
The Presidency’s official statement attributed the additional N4.53 trillion added to the national budget to improved revenue projections.
It said the funds were intended to support institutions like the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and priority investments in infrastructure and solid minerals.
FIJ’s review of the final budget documents shows that a large share of the additional funds allocated to the agriculture ministry was used to accommodate constituency empowerment projects.
Many of these projects have no direct relevance to food production, irrigation, agro-processing or climate-resilient farming.
This trend has been observed in previous years. In both 2023 and 2024, the agriculture ministry’s capital budget included line items for tailoring workshops, grinding machine distribution and laptop donations, all filed under agricultural development.
Meanwhile, agricultural output continues to decline despite rising budgetary allocations. According to the Business Confidence Monitoring (BCM) report published by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group and Stanbic IBTC, agriculture has been Nigeria’s worst-performing business sector since January 2024.
The BCM report highlights low investor sentiment, stagnant growth, and shrinking employment and capacity within the sector.
Food inflation has only recently begun to ease after reaching critical levels. In 2024, food prices rose by up to 40 per cent.
Although the Consumer Price Index reports a decline to 21.26 per cent in April 2025 from 23.1 per cent in January, the current rate remains in the territory of galloping inflation.
Food insecurity has also worsened. According to international monitoring agencies, 6.9 million Nigerians fell into acute food insecurity in 2024 alone. This figure accounted for 23 per cent of the global increase in food-insecure people recorded that year.
Experts warn that the crisis could deepen in 2025, as insecurity, climate shocks and high input costs continue to undermine food production in key farming regions.
Despite these challenges, the agriculture ministry’s capital budget continues to absorb constituency projects with limited or no relevance to the sector.
Most of these projects are initiated by legislators who sit on powerful budget committees and who represent urban or semi-urban constituencies.
FIJ estimates that the total sum of N785 million for hairdressing and barber-related projects in the 2025 agriculture budget covers vocational training, equipment supply and small business support.
These initiatives primarily benefit urban residents and political constituencies, not farmers or agricultural value chains.
