The Federal Government has called for a fundamental shift in how Africa finances agricultural research, urging governments and stakeholders to move beyond increased funding and focus on research that responds to market demand and delivers tangible economic impact.

 

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, and the Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed Ibrahim both made the call at a High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Sustainable Financing for Agricultural Research, Development and Innovation (AR4D), held on the sidelines of the ongoing 9th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW9) yesterday in Abuja.

 

 

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.”

 

Addressing policymakers, researchers, development partners and private sector stakeholders, during a panel session, Mr. Ibrahim argued that while funding remains important, the continent’s biggest challenge lies in creating an innovation ecosystem that connects research with industry and market demand.

 

He said “Financing is not the major challenge. It’s actually an ecosystem challenge adding that agricultural research should go beyond academic publications to produce innovations capable of attracting investment, commercialization and large-scale adoption.

 

He explained that an effective agricultural innovation system must rest on three interconnected pillars, government institutions that provide policy and funding, research institutions that generate knowledge, and industries that transform research into marketable solutions.

 

According to him, research financing naturally follows innovations that demonstrate economic value, questioning whether many research projects across Africa are sufficiently demand-driven and aligned with market realities.

 

“As much as research requires funding, the market also requires research. Financing flows wherever there are returns,” he noted.

 

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in his submission decried that despite agriculture contributing roughly one-quarter of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, rural communities where most food is produced, have seen little improvement over several decades.

 

“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,” he said.

 

The minister attributed declining farm productivity to poor access to quality seeds, inadequate financing, shrinking arable land, climate pressures and prolonged neglect of agricultural research institutions.

 

He disclosed that many farmers now resort to planting harvested grains as seeds because they cannot afford certified planting materials, resulting in lower yields and declining productivity.

 

Kyari commended NADF for conducting a comprehensive baseline assessment of Nigeria’s 16 agricultural research institutes and 17 colleges of agriculture, describing the exercise as a critical step toward revitalising the country’s research infrastructure.

 

The ministerial dialogue formed part of broader efforts to develop sustainable financing models for Agricultural Research, Development and Innovation (AR4D) across Africa.

 

The meeting culminated in the adoption of the Abuja Clarion Call, through which more than 500 African leaders urged governments to increase predictable domestic investment in agricultural research, establish sustainable agricultural development funds, strengthen public-private partnerships, expand innovative blended-finance mechanisms, and deepen continental collaboration to accelerate technology commercialization, food security, climate resilience and economic transformation across Africa.