Agric stakeholders reveal what appointment of Muhammad Ibrahim as Executive Secretary NADF means to sector

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The recent appointment of Muhammad Abu Ibrahim, as the Executive Secretary of the newly empowered National Agriculture Development Fund (NADF) by President Bola Tinubu has been greatly applauded by major players in the agricultural sector in Nigeria locally and internationally.

Commending the appointment, Ibrahim Maigari Ahmadu, a partner of Abu of over 20 years and Founder/CEO of RiceAfrika.com said he is one of the best in the industry, and indeed a big win for all entrepreneurs in the sector, exceptionally round peg in a round hole.

NADF which is established through an act signed in 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim he believes through the appointment would achieve it’s goal of giving critical financial support that will facilitate rapid and sustainable growth in various aspects of the Nigerian agricultural sector for the benefit of all citizens under Abu.

Ibrahim Maigari Ahmadu, Founder/CEO Rice Afrika

Ahmadu went on to reiterate the starling qualifications that has made Abu the best man for the job, being a trained accountant, with a sound financial mind, a prudent manager of resources, and a serial entrepreneur who has pioneered many innovations in many industries and is on the board of many companies in fintech, health, education, logistics, and agriculture.

He said,“As a leading stakeholder in the agricultural sector in Nigeria, I can confidently state that Muhammad is one of the few Nigerians today who can boldly claim to be a pioneer in mainstreaming the agricultural space through technology

“This is one appointment by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that has gotten me excited beyond measure because of the quality, experience, and passion for the development of agriculture in Nigeria in this appointee.”
He continued, “He co-founded and was CFO of Sponge Analytics (A Data Analytics Company), partnered with MTN Nigeria to develop Animal Identification and Management Solutions (MTN AIMS), the first of the kind in Africa, that was meant to solve the problems of cattle rustling, animal disease transmission, and the underdevelopment of the livestock value chain.

“He later co-founded Livestock247.com (Nigeria’s 1st Online Livestock platform) which has changed the business of livestock in Nigeria and continued to initiate many tech-driven innovations in the crop side of agriculture through his involvement with many agritech companies in Nigeria.

“Through Livestock247, where he served as a founding CFO, director and later vice chairman of the board, Muhammad managed multi-million-dollar international donor-funded projects for various interventions in Nigeria.”

On Abu’s academic standing, he reeled out his intimidating academic qualifications to include a first degree in Accountancy from the University of Jos and is a Certified Agricultural Finance and Banking expert. An Alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School and has also attended the Robert Kennedy College Zurich, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and a Fellow of Aspen Institute Leadership Initiative for Africa.

Ahmadu’s RiceAfrika.com, an award winning organization, a Tech-driven Agriculture Optimization Service Provider with operations in Nigeria and Tanzania (and about to expand to Rwanda and Ghana)
Speaking further on NADF said, “One of the functions of the Fund listed in section 8 in Part II of the Act is the provision of money “to support agricultural development in Nigeria taking into consideration the need for food production and food security in Nigeria, in all its ramifications, including crop production. livestock, fisheries, poultry, and agro-forestry.”

He went on to state, “The Fund is expected to “provide finance for the implementation of agricultural policies and strengthen agricultural institutions within the framework of national priorities and strategies.

“I do not doubt that under the leadership of this agriculture/finance expert, the NADF will surely have a visible impact on the Nigerian agricultural sector,” he concluded.