The Federal government is taking a bold step towards making support for farmers easier and effective. Very soon the authorities will have a data base for farmers in the country, which will ease information about the farmers and their strength.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari made this known in Abuja. He was speaking
at the Stakeholders Workshop on Best Practices for the National Digital Farmers Registry, NDFR. According to him, it is a collaborative knowledge-exchange platform aimed at building a unified, efficient, and secure digital agriculture ecosystem.
The workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and Heifer International.
The workshop, said the minister, was organised to enable government agencies, private sector actors, development partners, implementing organisations, technology innovators, and farmers’ associations to engage with global and regional best practices.
Senator Kyari said further, “It also strengthens the multi-stakeholder platform established to ensure that diverse voices contribute to an NDFR that is inclusive, sustainable, and impactful.”
He described the NDFR as a cornerstone of the government’s agenda for food security, agricultural productivity, and national economic renewal..
Kyari explained that the registry will strengthen data governance and ensure that every farmer in Nigeria is uniquely identified, properly documented, and effectively supported.
“A credible and inclusive NDFR is essential for delivering targeted interventions, improving farmer access to inputs, finance, and extension services, and strengthening planning and policy processes. It will also enhance accountability and traceability across agricultural value chains,” he said.
So, how will farmers key into the programme? Senator Kyari said the ministry will partner with the National Identity Management Commission on the design of an NIN-enabled registry to ensure a credible national database.
This will entail a unique verification of each farmer, significantly reducing duplication, fraud, and fragmentation across agricultural databases.
Now, to ensure a secured and foolproof exercise, he said his ministry is working with the Office of the National Security Adviser to embed strong data-protection measures, cybersecurity safeguards, and national-security considerations into the registry.
Absence of data has been blamed for the shoddy prosecution of government support for farmers, as well as the reason for the perpetration of fraud by officials and their collaborators. This has been identified as the basis for failure of otherwise ambitious programmes and poor implementation of agriculture policies.
