By Stella Odueme
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, and the Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed Ibrahim, have urged African governments to move beyond simply increasing funding for agricultural research and instead build innovation ecosystems capable of transforming scientific discoveries into commercially viable solutions that improve food security and farmers’ livelihoods.
The call was made on Wednesday during the High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Sustainable Financing for Agricultural Research, Development and Innovation (AR4D), held as part of the 9th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW9) at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
The dialogue, jointly organised by the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), focused on the theme, “Financing Africa’s Agricultural Future: Mobilizing Strategic Investments for Science, Innovation and Transformation.”
Speaking during a panel session, Mohammed Ibrahim argued that Africa’s agricultural transformation would not be achieved through funding alone but by creating systems that effectively connect research institutions, government and industry.
“Financing is not the major challenge. It’s actually an ecosystem challenge,” Ibrahim said.
He stressed that agricultural research should no longer end with academic publications but should generate innovations capable of attracting investment, commercialization and widespread adoption.
According to him, a functional agricultural innovation ecosystem depends on three interconnected pillars—government institutions that provide policies and financing, research institutions that generate knowledge, and industries that convert research outcomes into market-ready products.
“As much as research requires funding, the market also requires research. Financing flows wherever there are returns,” he said, questioning whether many research projects across Africa are sufficiently aligned with market demands.
Ibrahim explained that NADF operates through a diversified funding structure comprising statutory government allocations, designated levies, natural resource development contributions, investments and philanthropic funding.
He added that the Fund deploys its resources through three major financing instruments—debt financing, grants and equity investments—with loans channelled through participating financial institutions.
In his remarks, Senator Kyari said the establishment of NADF was a deliberate intervention to reverse decades of underinvestment in agricultural research and reposition the sector for sustainable growth.
Reflecting on the passage of the NADF Bill during his time in the National Assembly, the minister said he strongly supported its creation after observing the success of dedicated intervention agencies in other sectors of the economy.
Despite agriculture contributing about one-quarter of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Kyari said millions of rural farming households have continued to live in poverty.
“Eighty-five percent of the food we consume comes from smallholder farmers, yet their living conditions have remained virtually unchanged. That shows there is a structural imbalance in the agricultural economy,” the minister said.
Kyari attributed declining agricultural productivity to poor access to improved seeds, inadequate financing, shrinking arable land, climate change and years of neglect of agricultural research institutions.
He revealed that many farmers now plant harvested grains instead of certified seeds because they cannot afford improved planting materials, a practice he said has significantly reduced productivity.
The minister commended NADF for conducting a comprehensive baseline assessment of Nigeria’s 16 agricultural research institutes and 17 colleges of agriculture, describing the exercise as an important step toward revitalising the country’s agricultural research system.
The ministerial dialogue formed part of wider continental efforts to establish sustainable financing mechanisms for Agricultural Research, Development and Innovation (AR4D).
The meeting ended with the adoption of the Abuja Clarion Call, through which more than 500 African leaders committed to advocating increased and predictable domestic investment in agricultural research, the establishment of sustainable agricultural development funds, stronger public-private partnerships, expanded blended-finance mechanisms and deeper continental collaboration to accelerate technology commercialization, strengthen food security, build climate resilience and drive economic transformation across Africa.
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