The Nigeria Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) is calling for a shift to demand-driven agricultural research as a way to transformation across Africa’s farming sector, arguing that too many innovations remain stuck in laboratories instead of reaching smallholder farmers.
Speaking at a policy dialogue in Abuja, NADF officials said the continent’s agricultural research system has long been supply-led, with scientists developing technologies based on academic priorities rather than the real needs of farmers, agribusinesses and value-chain actors. The fund says this mismatch is one of the main reasons productivity gains have been slow despite decades of investment in agricultural R&D.
“Research must start with the farmer, not end with the farmer,” a NADF representative said. “If we want transformation, we must fund innovations that solve concrete problems: post-harvest losses, access to markets, climate resilience, and affordable inputs.”
The fund is pushing for a new model in which research agendas are co-created with farmers’ organisations, processors, traders and policymakers, and where funding is tied to measurable adoption and impact. It points to successful pilots in Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia where demand-driven projects have led to faster uptake of improved seeds, better storage technologies and more efficient irrigation systems.
NADF also highlighted the need for stronger linkages between research institutions, extension services and the private sector. It said many breakthroughs fail to scale because there is no clear pathway from pilot to commercialisation, and because extension systems are underfunded and overstretched.
The push comes as African governments prepare to review progress on the Malabo Declaration and the African Union’s agricultural transformation agenda. With climate change, population growth and food insecurity mounting, the fund says there is little room for business as usual.
“Demand-driven research is not a luxury. It is the only way to make sure that every dollar spent on agricultural innovation translates into higher yields, better incomes and more resilient food systems,” the NADF team said.
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