Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has said it has set in motion a machinery to identify and capture data of genuine farmers in partnership with the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, for accurate records and well directed interventions. This is to weed off the infiltration and criminal activities of ‘political farmers’ in the agricultural sector. In a statement signed by the Director, Information, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Joel Oruche, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Temitope Fashedemi was quoted as in Abuja inaugurating a Technical Working Group (TWG) on farmers Data capturing in order to identify and develop modalities to achieve seamless database.
According to the statement, speaking during the inauguration, held at the Ministry’s Conference room in Abuja recently, Fashedemi maintained that the Committee remains a vital initiative and veritable tool that would shape the future of Nigeria’s farmers through proper identification, assist the Ministry to deliver agricultural inputs and support to the right farmers. He also explained that the Ministry’s collaboration with the NIMC is basically to bring in their expertise that would achieve the desired robust database of farmers across the country. Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary said recently, the Minister inaugurated the National Executive Committee on the Implementation of the Nigeria Farmers’ soil health card scheme to enhance agricultural productivity and ensure a food-secure future for the country in line with the Tinubu-led administration’s mandate in the agricultural sector.
He also said the TWG under the leadership of the Director, Department of Planning and Policy Coordination, with the participation of the Directors of Technical Departments and the NIMC representative, would play a critical role in achieving the vision, therefore, he tasked the committee to develop effective modalities for collaboration between the Ministry and NIMC towards ensuring seamless data capture and management. The Director, Card Management Services Department, NIMC, Dr Peter Iwegbu, said the NIMC has the mandate to establish, own, operate, maintain and manage the national identity database in Nigeria, register persons covered by the Act, assign a unique National Identification Number (NIN) and issue general Multi-purpose Cards (GMPC) to those who are citizens of Nigeria as well as others legally residing within the country. Iwegbu also expressed optimism that the programme would enable the government manage the intervention across the country, validate soil, target support (specify target that you want to support i.e farmers), predictability, identify and channel whom you intend to support amongst others.
The committee’s Terms of Reference (TOR) include to develop a comprehensive work plan with clear timelines, roles, and responsibilities for each phase of the data capture initiative, design robust data collection tools and methodologies to capture essential farmer information, including personal identification, farm size, crop types, and others. Identify training programs for field Officers and data collectors to ensure data accuracy and consistency, establish clear terms and conditions for the collaboration between the Ministry and NIMC, fostering a strong partnership and any other relevant work/directives that will facilitate the work of the committee. Membership of the TWG was drawn from technical departments of the Ministry and NIMC.
Agric Ministry to register genuine farmers in Nigeria
