Meet Executive Secretary/CEO Of The National Agricultural Development Fund
By Ibrahim Buhari
Between January and March 2021, agriculture contributed upto 22.35 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product. Over 70 percent of Nigerians engage in the agriculture sector mainly at a subsistence level.
Despite the contribution to the economy, Nigeria’s agricultural sector faces many challenges which impact on its productivity. These include; poor land tenure system, low level of irrigation farming, climate change and land degradation. Others are low technology, high production cost and poor distribution of inputs, limited financing, high post-harvest losses and poor access to markets.
These challenges have stifled agricultural productivity affecting the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP as well as increased food imports due to population rise hence declining levels of food sufficiency. For instance, between 2016 and 2019, Nigeria’s cumulative agricultural imports stood at N3.35 trillion, four times higher than the agricultural export of N803 billion within the same period.
The appointment of Alhaji Mohammed A. Ibrahim as the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Development Fund by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) continues to attract accolades from the agriculture industry in Nigeria.
A graduate of accountancy from the University of Jos, a Certified Agricultural Finance and Banking expert, and also Alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School. Mohammed also attended the Robert Kennedy College Zurich, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and a Fellow of Aspen Institute Leadership Initiative for Africa.
The experienced, Hardworking and passionate entrepreneur in the agriculture eco system leadership style has yielded quality in all sectors he found himself in.
Mohammed Ibrahim was the Chief Executive officer of Environmental Management and Development Systems Limited and is a serial entrepreneur with 16 years of successful experience in initiating and nurturing business startups within uniquely challenging environments. He was founding partner and CEO of Cryogenic Industries Limited (high grade oxygen and allied gases producers) from 2007 to 2009. Before that, he served as founder and CEO of Tri- Dynamic Services Limited, a municipal solid waste management company.
He was also the executive director of North-South Petroleum Limited, a deep offshore oil block holding company. Mohammed served as the Chairman of the Board of Inspire Academy, a British Curriculum Primary School with emphasis on special needs in Abuja Nigeria.
He serves as Director in Socket Works Limited a thriving IT Firm with presence in six African countries. Mohammed is a Fellow of the fifth class of the African Leadership Initiative-West Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
It’s a joyful moment for Nigeria Agriculture system for appointing Mohammed Abu Ibrahim to drive the NADF because, He established his foothold in agriculture as the Managing Director of Maigari Farms, a major out-grower for leading aggregator companies in Nigeria between 2012 and 2018. His passion for integration of technology in agriculture led to his co-founding Sponge Analytics, an agricultural Data aggregation company that pioneered animal identification and traceability services in the country through a partnership with MTN Nigeria.
He leveraged his financial background and agricultural expertise to co-found Livestock 247, the first indigenous online livestock trading platform and served as the CFO for 5 years. Currently, Livestock247 Services has emerged as the foremost technology-based company providing services in animal health, financial services and digitization across the livestock value chain in Nigeria.
An experienced gentleman with over 25 years in Leadership, Management, Agricultural Finance, and Agriculture Technology solutions.
I have no doubt that His appointment by Mr. President is a reward for many years of loyalty, dedication, and service to the agriculture sector in Nigeria.
I can assure Nigerians that Muhammad Abu Ibrahim will leave a legacy in the agricultural sector in Nigeria. This is indeed a big win for all entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector as one of the very best is now the Executive Secretary of the NADF
He is happily married with kids.
By Ibrahim Buhari