The challenge in African agriculture does not stem from a shortage of capital, but rather from investors’ reluctance to commit funds to the continent’s food systems.
The Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed Ibrahim, stated this at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali, Rwanda, where he set the tone for a panel discussion on ‘Activating Leaders to Unlock Investment in Food Systems.’
Ibrahim opened the session by noting that substantial capital pools exist but attracting them to agriculture requires stronger leadership, reliable data, predictable markets, and institutions that can deliver on their commitments.
‘Capital exists. What is often missing is the confidence that allows capital to move,’ Ibrahim said.
He emphasised that boosting investor confidence requires a robust agricultural ecosystem with identifiable farmers, reliable data, predictable markets, and credible institutions to mitigate risks and enhance certainty adding that NADF was shifting its focus to ensure public resources strategically support additional private investment, not replace it.
‘At NADF, we increasingly believe that public capital should be catalytic rather than substitutive,’ he said.
The NADF boss said the Fund is advancing financing approaches including blended finance, co-financing, on-lending and strategic partnerships with banks, insurers, processors and development partners to mobilise greater investment into agriculture.
He explained that public capital should address risks and market constraints that discourage private investment, thereby creating the conditions for larger pools of commercial and development finance to enter the sector.
‘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?’ Ibrahim said.
He stressed that farmers must remain at the centre of agricultural investment decisions and be recognised as economic actors rather than simply beneficiaries of government programmes.
‘Farmers are not simply beneficiaries. They are economic actors,’ he said.
The executive secretary maintained that unlocking investment at scale would require stronger market linkages, improved access to finance and an enabling environment in which farmers and agricultural enterprises can become more productive, profitable and commercially viable.