Nigeria launches National Agricultural Development Fund to boost research and innovation

The Federal Government of Nigeria announced the operationalisation of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) during the 9th Africa Agricultural Science Week in Abuja on 29 July 2026. Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Senator Abubakar Kyari said the fund will provide a sustainable mechanism to support research, technology development, enterprise creation, value‑chain modernisation and private‑sector participation, targeting areas such as digital agriculture, mechanisation, climate‑smart production, seed systems, livestock, irrigation and the marine and blue economy.

Executive Secretary Mohammed Ibrahim explained that NADF will be financed through statutory budget allocations, levies, natural‑resource contributions and capital‑raising activities, deploying resources via debt, grants and equity. He called for a shift from viewing financing as the main obstacle to building an innovation ecosystem that links research with market demand. The fund will work with partners including the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, FARA, AU, ECOWAS, CGIAR centres and the private sector, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda to place agriculture at the core of Nigeria’s economic renewal and food‑security strategy.