By Olufemi Adebayo
The federal government is developing a farmer register, which targets to capture six (6) million farmers using national identification number (NIN) and biometric information to identify genuine farmers and their farmlands.
The minister of Agriculture and food security, Abubakar Kyari, who said this during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Abuja, explained that the initiative will also provide a financial inclusion card that offers various functionalities to farmers.
The database, known as the farmer register, which will utilize the National Identity Number (NIN) and biometric information to identify genuine farmers and their farmland, is designed to help address some of the challenges faced by farmers and provide them with targeted support.
Two million farmers are to be registered in the pilot phase, within 3 months, with plans to upscale to 6 million in the second phase.
The minister of Agriculture and food security, Abubakar Kyari, said the initiative aims to enhance support interventions for farmers and boost food security.
The minister added that the initiative would ensure proper farm season planning, accurate input distribution while eliminating portfolio and fake farmers racketeering in the system.
With the 3-month timeline available to National identity management commission to capture the biometric information of farmers, the commission has formed a working group to operationalize the plans, partnering private sectors and utilizing its offices in every local government area across the country, to-reach rural farmers.