Our seeds deliver higher yields than conventional varieties – CEO Noba Africa

Abdulrazak Najim is a Nigerian entrepreneur and business strategist. He is the chief executive officer of Noba Africa Agro Allied Limited. With a strong focus on agriculture and commodity trading, he is building an integrated agribusiness platform that spans commodity sourcing, seed development, and agricultural project management.

He has led Noba Africa to generate billions of naira in revenue, positioning the company as an emerging force in West Africa’s agricultural value chain. Najim is particularly passionate about improving farmer productivity, expanding market access, and leveraging technology—such as AI-driven farm management systems—to modernise agriculture across the continent.

In this interview with Feyishola Jaiyesimi, he talks about how Noba Africa is closing the seed gap prevalent in Nigeria’s agric sector and how their seed has been tested to deliver high yield for farmers.

Noba Africa positions seed production at the core of its model. What differentiates your maize, rice, and soybean seeds?

At Noba Africa, our approach to seed production is built around three key pillars—yield, adaptability, and consistency. Our maize, rice, and soybean seeds are high-yielding improved varieties that have been tested across Northern Nigeria’s agro-ecological zones, consistently delivering 20 to 30 percent higher yields compared to conventional farmer-saved seeds.

Beyond yield, we prioritise resilience. Our seed varieties are selected to withstand drought, erratic rainfall, and local pest pressures, ensuring that farmers can maintain output even under challenging conditions. Equally important is consistency. Many farmers struggle with unpredictable results, but our system is designed to deliver uniform performance across batches, which is critical for commercial-scale farming.

At its core, our mission is to unlock and commercialise high-potential innovations that often remain unused within research institutions, bridging the gap between research and practical application.

Can you walk me through your quality assurance process?

Our quality assurance process is rigorous and designed to ensure genetic purity and high performance at every stage. We begin with seed sourcing, obtaining only verified breeder or foundation seeds from trusted genetic lines to prevent contamination.

This is followed by field inspections at critical growth stages—vegetative, flowering, and pre-harvest—where we assess uniformity, disease presence, and adherence to varietal traits. A key part of this process is roguing, where off-type plants are removed to maintain genetic integrity.

Post-harvest, seeds undergo cleaning, grading, and moisture control to ensure quality and storage viability. Finally, we conduct germination and viability tests, and only seed lots that meet strict thresholds are approved for distribution. This ensures farmers receive seeds that are reliable, high-performing, and consistent.

To what extent are your seeds climate-adaptive?

Climate adaptability is central to our seed development. For northern regions, our seeds are bred for drought tolerance, with traits such as deeper root systems and efficient water use, enabling crops to withstand erratic rainfall.

For high rainfall areas, particularly in rice production, we deploy flood-tolerant varieties that can survive temporary submergence and resume growth once water recedes. We also focus on early maturity cycles, allowing crops to reach harvest within 90 to 100 days, helping farmers avoid late-season climate shocks.

In addition, our varieties are screened for resistance to major diseases, reducing reliance on chemical inputs and improving yield stability. Taken together, these features position our seeds as risk management tools for farmers navigating climate variability.

What measurable impact have your seeds had on productivity?

The impact has been significant. Farmers using our seeds record yield increases of 20 to 30 percent per hectare, enabling higher output without expanding farmland. We have also seen improvements in crop uniformity, which reduces labour costs and improves harvest predictability.

Importantly, crop failure rates have declined due to improved resilience, giving farmers more confidence to invest in inputs. To date, we have reached over 10,000 farmers, translating into increased agricultural output, higher incomes, and stronger rural economies.

How do you balance affordability with quality?

We achieve this through strategic efficiency. By leveraging high-potential materials from public research institutions and adopting a community-based production model, we reduce research, logistics, and operational costs.

This allows us to deliver high-quality seeds at affordable prices, ensuring that smallholder farmers can access improved inputs without financial strain.

How does your aggregation model work, and how does it improve profitability?

Our aggregation model is designed to streamline the supply chain. Farmers deliver produce to structured collection points, where it is quickly aggregated, graded, and prepared for buyers. This reduces post-harvest losses and improves quality consistency.

We also establish pre-arranged offtake agreements with food processing companies, ensuring farmers have guaranteed markets before harvest. This eliminates the risk of unsold produce and reduces dependence on middlemen, who often depress prices.

How do seed production, market access, and investment work together in your model?

Our model is built as a closed-loop system. Seed production drives productivity by providing farmers with high-yielding, climate-resilient inputs. Market access ensures that this increased output is absorbed through structured channels with guaranteed buyers.

Investment provides the capital needed to scale operations, adopt technology, and expand reach. Together, these elements create a self-reinforcing ecosystem where farmers produce more, sell more efficiently, and generate higher returns, while investors benefit from structured and transparent value chains.

What does your investment model look like?

We offer two main investment structures. The first is an ethical investment model, where profits are shared quarterly on a 50:50 basis, with returns historically ranging between four and six percent.

The second is a fixed-return model, offering between 20.7 and 31.7 percent depending on tenure and investment size. With a minimum investment of N5 million and a three-year tenure, these options provide both flexibility and predictability for investors.

How do you de-risk agriculture within your model?

We de-risk agriculture through design. First, we secure offtake agreements before planting begins, ensuring farmers have guaranteed markets. We also diversify operations across multiple states and crops to reduce exposure to localised risks.