Hafsat A. Grema is a development professional and food systems expert, currently serving as the Project Management Specialist for Resilience and Food Security at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Nigeria. In this role, she leads strategic oversight and technical coordination for multi-million-dollar interventions that drive agriculture-led economic growth, enhance community resilience, and improve food security outcomes across Nigeria.
Prior to joining USAID, Hafsat served in multiple high-level advisory roles within the Kaduna State Government, including Special Assistant, Special Adviser to the Governor on the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (LPRES), and ultimately as the Director General of the Kaduna State Livestock Regulatory Authority. In these capacities, she was instrumental in shaping and executing Kaduna State’s livestock transformation agenda—developing the first Livestock Sector Development Strategy, 15 regulatory frameworks for safe livestock production and trade, and designing an investment roadmap that attracted private sector participation. Notably, she also led the successful return of over 2,000 rustled cattle rescued by the Military to claimants, reinforcing state-level resilience and conflict resolution frameworks.
In the private sector, Hafsat held the role of National Team Lead and Livestock Productivity Improvement Manager at Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd, where she spearheaded the Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN) program. Her leadership catalyzed transformational outcomes: increasing artificial insemination success rates in cows from 20% to 80%, expanding fodder cultivation across 400 hectares, and boosting safe and quality milk supply from 2% to 55% among pastoral households in Northern Nigeria.
Her expertise extends to aquaculture and fisheries systems, having worked as a National Aquaculture Specialist with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she supported in the provision of production and processing equipment to small-scale fish enterprises in Northeast Nigeria.
Hafsat began her career in academia, rising to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maiduguri. A passionate researcher and mentor who published widely in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to the advancement of sustainable food systems through research, teaching, and stakeholder partnerships.
She holds a PhD in Food Animal Systems from Ahmadu Bello University, a Master’s in Sustainable Aquaculture from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and both a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and a Master’s in Food Animal Medicine from the University of Maiduguri.
