Amidst efforts to transform food systems in Africa, the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) has called for a new framework to coordinate public, private and concessional funding in the agricultural sector and ensure implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

The Executive Secretary of NADF, Mohamed Ibrahim, made the call during a plenary session on policy and state capability at the ongoing Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.

Speaking on the theme of the plenary session “Aligning Investment to Fast-Track CAADP Objectives”, the ES said African countries must move beyond conventional funding of agricultural programmes towards structured financing systems that align investments with national priorities, de-risk projects and attract greater private-sector capital.

He stated that Nigeria is constantly trying to move from just funding to a financial architecture, saying the Fund approach was focused on identifying national priorities, developing credible investment opportunities and strategically deploying concessional and public resources to catalyse additional financing.

According to him, Africa’s agricultural financing challenge is not only about the availability of capital but also the fragmentation of existing resources and the absence of effective structures to coordinate investments.

“We want to see that we are coordinating financial capital because there is sometimes a problem of capital availability but also fragmentation of capital that lacks a structure,” he said.

Ibrahim said NADF is working to address these gaps by de-risking agricultural investments and building credible, bankable project pipelines capable of attracting private-sector financing.

He stressed that public resources should be strategically deployed to “crowd in, not crowd out” private investment, noting that the absence of commercially viable projects remains a major constraint to mobilising capital.

The NADF Boss also called for stronger data and accountability systems to improve investment decisions and ensure agricultural financing delivers measurable benefits, particularly for smallholder farmers, saying the Fund is strengthening data for investment decisions. No investment decision is made without looking at the data and what it shows,” he said.

Ibrahim advocated a shift from measuring agricultural interventions by the amount of money spent to assessing their actual impact, saying success should be measured not only by increased yields but also by improvements in farmer profitability, participation in agricultural value chains, resilience and livelihoods.

Ibrahim further advocated independent monitoring, evaluation and learning systems to determine what works, identify gaps and generate evidence for scaling successful interventions.

Also speaking, Director of Adaptive and Equitable Food Systems at the Gates Foundation Ana Maria Loboguerrero, , said philanthropic capital could play a catalytic role by providing patient, higher-risk financing for innovative agricultural solutions before commercial investors enter.

She said such financing could generate evidence, strengthen public-sector capabilities and reduce risks, ultimately making agricultural investments more attractive to commercial capital.

Participants agreed that achieving CAADP objectives would require more than increased funding, stressing that coordinated financing, credible investment pipelines, stronger accountability and effective alignment between public policy and private capital are essential to translating commitments into measurable improvements in productivity, resilience, nutrition, inclusion and regional trade.