The Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed A. Ibrahim, has called on Nigeria to recognise reliable agricultural data as a critical national asset needed to transform the country’s food systems.
Speaking at the 25th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Economists (NAAE) held at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Ibrahim described the “lack of reliable, timely, and coordinated agricultural data” as one of the nation’s biggest structural challenges.
Delivering his keynote address under the theme, “Rethinking Nigerian Agricultural Systems through Innovation, ICT and Food Systems,” he explained that accurate and accessible data is essential for sound policymaking, subsidy design, and performance evaluation. “A government with funds but without credible statistics risks investing in shadows,” he warned.
Drawing from his experience as co-founder of the agritech startup Livestock247, Ibrahim shared insights into the difficulties of innovation within Nigeria’s agriculture sector. He highlighted the challenges of raising capital and overcoming cultural resistance to technology. According to him, these experiences strengthened his understanding of “data integrity and trust in every layer of the agricultural ecosystem.”
He cited examples from Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda, where national digital agriculture strategies have improved transparency and resource management. He said Nigeria could adopt similar models to drive efficiency and enhance accountability across its agricultural value chains.
Outlining the strategic priorities of the NADF, Ibrahim revealed that the Fund is focused on building a data-driven foundation for its interventions. “We are building an integrated digital platform to track beneficiaries, monitor performance, and align interventions with national data systems,” he said. “Our goal is simple: to ensure that every naira spent by the Fund translates into measurable, evidence-based impact.”
He also reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to supporting agritech startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), describing them as the “bridge between innovation and impact, between research and rural livelihoods.”
Challenging the attending agricultural economists, Ibrahim urged them to design frameworks that would bridge the data divide, link farmers to crucial information, and reduce socio-economic barriers to technology adoption.
“Let us rethink agriculture not as a tradition of the past, but as a technology-driven enterprise that secures our food future and strengthens our economy,” he stated, outlining a vision for a modern, data-centered agricultural sector.