Nma Agada (pronounced “mm-áh ah-gah-dáh”) is a global development scholar and strategist working at the intersection of food security, climate resilience, and institutional innovation. She is completing her Ph.D.
at Arizona State University, where her research examines how farmer cooperatives in West Africa’s high-
value agricultural systems mediate resilience between farmers and institutions in the face of climate and socio-economic shocks, with Ghana’s cocoa sector as her case study.
She is building Graft Africa, an emerging social enterprise reimagining West African agrifood systems
through knowledge exchange, data solutions, and partnership acceleration to strengthen food security & sovereignty, expand value chains, and drive locally-led innovation.
Nma’s professional background spans KPMG, Translantic Development Limited, USAID, Moonshot
Global, and The Adventure Project. She has advised across sectors, from ESG and risk management to
impact evaluation and climate adaptation, bridging boardrooms, communities, and policy spaces.
As a writer and storyteller, she amplifies African perspectives on resilience and future-making through her Memoirs and Futures Substack and LinkedIn articles & newsletters.
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