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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
About 10 months after the Federal Government announced moves to register farmers, not much have been heard about the exercise.
In January, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to kickstart the exercise.
Kyari had said that about two million farmers would be captured in the first quarter of the year and that subsequently the government would scale it up to six million farmers.
According to him, the initiative would help the government weed out portfolio farmers and to deal with real farmers.
He said: “What we have just signed with NIMC is the development of the farmers register. We are going to use the platform that NIMC has, that is the National Identity Number (NIN) and also the card which will contain all the biometric information of the individual farmers.
“First and foremost, we will identify the farmland and also pluck in the farmers. That is to say we want to capture a genuine farmer which will have only one biometric and one NIN, so that in times of intervention, we will know who we are going to target.
“Firstly, we will have a primary information. The secondary information will now give us the location of the farmland, the type of crops, soil, the type of cultivation whether it is irrigation or rain fed cultivation.
“The initiative will forestall all the issues we have had like the portfolio farmers and ghost farmers. In a sense, this is in line with Mr President’s eight point agenda on food security to intervene and support real farmers which will now produce more and give us successful and bountiful harvest.
“The data of the farmers will base here in the ministry of agriculture and food security.
“We have in first instance to register two million. And that I think will take at least three months. It is going to be like a pilot as we signed. Subsequently, we are going to upscale it to six million in the second batch.
“For registration, we are developing the template. But I must say that it is not the financial obligation that matters. We need to know what we are saving, bringing in to the country in terms of losses that we see go on and on. This is way of saving a lot of money for the country in terms of food security.”
However, since then most farmers claimed that they have not been captured.
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A farmer in Cross River State, Abang Odu, feigned ignorance of the exercise, saying nobody had contacted him for the exercise.“We in Ogoja Local Local Government have not been captured. In fact, we are not even aware of the executive.
“We are still waiting for them to come. I just pray that it is not part of the national census gimmicks by the government.”
Another farmer in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Musa, complained that he has not heard from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
“I have not heard of such initiative. I do not think the farmer association in Nasarawa State is aware of the move. Maybe with time we will hear about it. But enough sensitisation should be carried out by the government.
“But for now, we are still not aware of any registration,” he said. A plantain farmer in Ondo State, Sodiq Idowu charged the government to be transparent in the exercise,. saying that it should not be another political games.
Despite the slow pace of works, the government has continued to assure farmer that the National Digital Farmers Registry (NDFR) would strengthen Nigeria’s food security architecture by enabling data driven policies and targeted interventions that boost agricultural productivity and ensure resources reach genuine farmers.
The Minister stated that the initiative would strengthen agricultural planning, deliver targeted interventions, ensure accountability, and a credible as well as unified farmer’s identification system.
He noted that “the National Digital Farmers Registry is a foundational tool for strengthening Nigeria’s food security architecture and by providing timely, accurate insights into production patterns, cropping cycles, and regional supply conditions, the registry will give government the clarity needed to anticipate shifts in the food system and plan more effectively.”
He added that ‘’the NDFR also incorporates geo tagging of farmers and their farmlands. By linking each farmer to precise geographic coordinates, we enhance traceability, improve planning, and strengthen our ability to monitor interventions. This feature is essential for eliminating ghost beneficiaries and ensuring full transparency in government to people service delivery’’.
The Minister stated that ‘’ the registry goes beyond verification by creating a single, trusted system that brings together accurate information on farmers nationwide. With one unified database across the 36 states and the FCT, government can deliver inputs, mechanization, 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’’.
Also, Country Director, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dede Ekoue stated that NDFR would demonstrate the commitment of the government to transform the agricultural sector and to improve farmers’ livelihood.
She added that the objective would ensure understanding of the best practices among key stakeholders in support of an integrated NDFR that transforms agrifood systems in Nigeria in line with the Kampala Declaration (2026-2035) Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) adopted by African Union Members States in January 2025.
