NADF woos agro-processors to boost input supply, farm productivity

 

The National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) has engaged agro-processors and other stakeholders in the agribusiness value chain to strengthen agricultural input supply and enhance productivity across the country.

Speaking at the engagement, the Executive Secretary of the fund, Mohammed Ibrahim, said NADF remains committed to evidence-based learning and continuous improvement as it rolls out the first phase of its intervention programme.

Ibrahim, who was represented by the Head of Corporate Services at NADF, Abiodun Sosanya, said the pilot phase focused on improving input supply and productivity across grower systems but acknowledged that the initiative faced challenges that affected planting cycles and expected yields.

According to him, the challenges highlighted the complexities involved in implementing large-scale agricultural interventions such as the NADF Farm Inputs Supply Programme.

He reaffirmed the fund’s commitment to partnering with processors to ensure accountability, efficiency and sustained improvement, urging stakeholders to actively engage NADF in delivering practical solutions that would strengthen input systems, boost productivity and support national agricultural transformation.

Ibrahim expressed optimism that feedback from processors would help shape a more efficient, transparent and climate-responsive second phase of the programme with improved impact and sustainability.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Vemac Farms Limited, Femi Ojelade, said achieving food security requires collaboration among processors, smallholder farmers and government. He urged NADF to ensure timely delivery of inputs, particularly ahead of the planting season.

Managing Director of Arog Bio Allied Agro Services Limited, Aroge Temitope, described the scheme as supportive of food security and rural wealth creation, noting that it enables processors to access inputs and ensure steady flow of raw materials along the agribusiness value chain.

He added that the intervention supported his company’s outgrower scheme for cassava cultivation for the 2025 and 2026 seasons across Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti states.

Meanwhile, the Head of Strategy and Planning at NADF, Adebanke Fajana, disclosed that the fund plans to reach five million smallholder farmers under its Agro 2.0 scheme.

She said the initiative is leveraging processors in the organised private sector to effectively reach farmers, adding that lessons from the pilot phase are being refined for a more coordinated rollout.

Fajana also revealed that NADF has a robust monitoring and evaluation framework with regional and state officers deployed to track cultivation levels, input usage and adoption of good agronomic practices to ensure proper utilisation and maximum impact.