By Abubakar Sadiq Mohd, Zaria The Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed Ibrahim, ha...
By Abubakar Sadiq Mohd, Zaria
The Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed Ibrahim, has called for a data-driven transformation of Nigeria’s agricultural sector, urging stakeholders to embrace innovation, technology, and evidence-based policymaking as tools for achieving food security and sustainable growth.
Speaking at the 25th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Economists (NAAE) held at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Ibrahim described the conference theme, “Rethinking Nigerian Agricultural Systems through Innovation, ICT and Food Systems,” as both timely and critical to repositioning the nation’s agriculture for global competitiveness.
He observed that despite Nigeria’s vast arable land and abundant human capital, the country’s agricultural progress continues to be hindered by the absence of reliable, timely, and coordinated data — a gap that undermines planning, resource allocation, and performance tracking across the agricultural value chain.
“This gap affects every link in our value chain — from identifying genuine farmers and mapping farmlands to tracking yields, forecasting demand, and evaluating impact,” Ibrahim noted.
Drawing lessons from Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda, he explained how digital agriculture strategies in those countries have improved transparency, accountability, and efficiency. He urged Nigeria to urgently adopt similar approaches to strengthen its agricultural systems.
“Innovation is not an abstract concept; it is a matter of survival through creativity and collaboration,” he stated.
Ibrahim revealed that NADF has developed an integrated digital platform to enhance agricultural financing and program delivery. The system, built in partnership with private sector innovators, enables the Fund to track beneficiaries, monitor performance, and align interventions with national data systems.
“Our goal is simple — to ensure that every naira spent by the Fund translates into measurable, evidence-based impact,” he emphasized.
He further highlighted the role of startups and small enterprises in driving agricultural transformation, noting that NADF is designing funding models to support agritech ventures that connect farmers to markets, finance, and vital information.
However, Ibrahim cautioned that technology and data alone are not enough. He underscored the need for strong intellectual input from agricultural economists and researchers to translate data into actionable insights that can guide sound policies and investment decisions.
“Without reliable data, we cannot design effective subsidies, forecast yields, or evaluate impact. A government with funds but without credible statistics risks investing in shadows,” he warned.
“If we can unite innovation with insight and ICT with integrity, we can build agricultural systems that are inclusive, efficient, and sustainable,” he concluded.
The NAAE conference, attended by academics, policymakers, and development partners, focused on exploring new pathways for integrating innovation and digital technology into Nigeria’s food systems to enhance productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
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