Nigeria launches digital farmers registry

Sen. Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, has officially inaugurated the National Digital Farmers Registry (NDFR) Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Knowledge Sharing Platform, a strategic initiative designed to enhance technical understanding of NDFR best practices and validate recommendations for engagement, learning, and coordination across Nigeria’s agricultural ecosystem.

The NDFR seeks to establish a precise, real-time, geo-referenced, and disaggregated database of farmers across Nigeria, capturing key details such as location, commodities, production scale, gender, and age. Positioned as a cornerstone of the Agriculture Digital Public Infrastructure (AgDPI), the NDFR will facilitate farmer verification, targeted input delivery, financial inclusion, geospatial mapping, value chain integration, and data-driven agricultural planning.

Addressing participants at the National Stakeholder Workshop on Best Practices for NDFR, organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Heifer International, Kyari highlighted Nigeria’s fragmented farmer databases built over years through federal, state, and partner programmes. He stated, “While these efforts have contributed useful insights, the absence of a unified, verifiable, and interoperable system has resulted in duplication, inconsistencies, resource leakages, and persistent challenges in accurately identifying genuine farmers.”

Kyari described the NDFR as a strategic pillar of the Renewed Hope Agenda and a critical step toward securing Nigeria’s food future. “His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has made it clear that the era of fragmented farmer databases and uncoordinated agricultural data must give way to a new era of harmonization and digital efficiency. To strengthen agricultural planning, deliver targeted interventions, and deepen accountability, Nigeria must operate a credible and unified farmer identification system. The National Digital Farmers Registry is therefore a strategic pillar of the Renewed Hope Agenda and a critical step toward securing our nation’s food future.”

Expanding on the registry’s capabilities, Kyari explained that it goes beyond verification by creating a single trusted system, unifying accurate information on farmers nationwide. “With one unified database across the 36 states and the FCT, the government can deliver inputs, mechanisation, extension services, credit, insurance, and other forms of support with the precision required to reach the right beneficiaries and promote true inclusion across the farming population.”

Kyari further noted that the NDFR will strengthen transparency, reduce duplication, prevent fraud, and support accurate planning. It is designed for interoperability with other national systems and digital agriculture platforms, enabling access to financial services, climate advisory tools, market information, mechanisation, and early warning systems. The initiative aligns with Nigeria’s commitment to the Kampala Declaration on Strengthening Digital and Data Systems for Agricultural Transformation under the CAADP Agenda.

He lauded IFAD’s partnership, saying, “Your leadership in advancing digital innovation in agriculture continues to strengthen our collective drive toward resilience, efficiency, and transparency across Nigeria’s food systems.” IFAD Country Director, Mrs Dede Ekoue, praised the government for prioritising the development of a NIN-empowered digital farmers registry, which promotes inclusivity and strengthens service delivery.

Lekan Tobe, Heifer International Country Director, emphasised that NDFR is guided by global best practices, capacity building, and a multi-stakeholder platform that consolidates farmer data nationwide. “Imagine being able to google farmers in Kano and they all come out, or farmers growing tomatoes in Katsina that helps all of us and that coordination is lacking to a large extent in the country now.”

Similarly, Brenda Mulele Gunde, IFAD ICT4D Global Lead, highlighted the NDFR as a coordinated national effort, consolidating datasets into a single source of truth for farmers’ information. She acknowledged potential challenges but expressed confidence in the initiative due to strong political will and shared stakeholder commitment.

Launched on 28 May 2025 under Nigeria’s Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) and the IFAD/Nigeria Digital Innovation Action Plan (DIAP), the NDFR Policy Dialogue Initiative continues to build stakeholder capacity, guide a unified registry rollout, and connect government institutions, private sector actors, farmers’ organisations, civil society, research institutions, and development partners.