Investor confidence key to agricultural investment — NADF ES

The Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed Ibrahim, has called for stronger leadership and institutional coordination to unlock investment in Africa’s food systems.

Ibrahim spoke at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, where he set the tone for a panel discussion on “Activating Leaders to Unlock Investment in Food Systems.”

Opening the session, Ibrahim said Africa’s challenge was not simply a shortage of money, but the confidence required to move capital into agriculture. “Capital exists. What is often missing is the confidence that allows capital to move,” he said, pointing to the need for reliable data, identifiable farmers, predictable markets and institutions that can deliver on their commitments.

He said NADF was increasingly focused on ensuring that public resources are used to attract, rather than replace, private capital. “At NADF, we increasingly believe that public capital should be catalytic rather than substitutive,” Ibrahim said.

He added that the Fund was looking at blended finance, co-financing, on-lending and partnerships with banks, insurers, processors and development partners to expand agricultural investment.

Ibrahim also urged leaders to change how success in agriculture is measured. “Our success should not be measured only by how much government money we deploy. We should also ask: How much additional investment did that public intervention unlock?” he said.

He stressed that farmers must remain at the centre of investment decisions, noting that farmers are not simply beneficiaries but are economic actors.

He added that NADF’s ambition was to help build an agricultural sector that others are increasingly willing and able to finance.