Nigeria Launches Digital Biometric Registry to Verify Farmers Using National ID System

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has initiated a partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to develop a comprehensive digital farmers’ register. The new system will use biometric data linked to National Identity Numbers (NIN) to verify legitimate farmers and streamline government agricultural interventions, building upon Nigeria’s expanding digital identity infrastructure that aims to reach 180 million citizens by 2026.

The collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will begin with a three-month pilot phase targeting two million farmers. The system will capture farmers’ biometric data alongside detailed information about their farmland, including geolocation coordinates, crop varieties, soil characteristics, and cultivation methods.

“We are going to actually register a genuine farmer, which will have only one biometric and one NIN number,” said Senator Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security. “So we know actually who we are going to, in terms of intervention, who we are going to target.”

The implementation will leverage NIMC’s existing infrastructure across Nigeria’s local governments and states. NIMC Director General Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote detailed the deployment strategy: “We have offices in every local government across the country and we also have state offices in every state,” he said. “Through our partnership with the private sector, we have front-end partners who are working with NIMC in the community areas, so they would be able to reach out to the farmers.”

The platform aims to create a verified database for planning government agricultural programs while eliminating fraudulent claims from “portfolio farmers.” The system is designed to enhance the efficiency of agricultural input distribution and improve the targeting of government interventions. This development aligns with Nigeria’s broader digital transformation initiatives, supported by the World Bank’s Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project.

A dedicated working group will oversee the operationalization of the initiatives outlined in the MoU. The digital register is expected to optimize resource allocation and contribute to increased agricultural productivity, while integrating with Nigeria’s expanding national digital identity ecosystem that has already processed over 200 million identity verifications across various sectors.

Sources: Voice of Nigeria

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January 16, 2025 – by the ID Tech Editorial Team