By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter, D.S
The Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), Mr. Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, convened a significant meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Food Systems Resilience Project, and the Ministry of Communications, Technology, and Innovation to discuss the integration of a national digital farmer registry with the NCRA’s Biometric Digital and National Identification Number (NIN) system.
The primary aim of the meeting was to utilize the NCRA’s NIN database to establish unique, reliable, and verifiable records for every farmer. This integration will allow the Ministry of Agriculture’s Digital Farmer Registry System to authenticate and verify farmers’ identities using their NINs, thus eliminating duplications and ensuring accurate registration.
This initiative aligns with the Government’s digital transformation agenda and is supported by the National Civil Registration Act of 2016 and the 2022 Parliamentary Ratification, which mandates the use of the NIN as a unique identifier for accessing government services without discrimination.
During the meeting, Dr. Kepri, Project Coordinator for the Food Systems Resilience Project, and Mr. Dominic Bao, Head of ICT at the Ministry of Agriculture, highlighted challenges posed by fragmented and inconsistent farmer data that have hindered effective collaboration with donor partners. They noted, “Over the years, multiple efforts to compile farmer records lacked consistency and uniqueness.”
The forthcoming Farmer Registry is expected to serve as the foundational database for all digital agriculture systems, e-extension services, and other agtech platforms under the Ministry of Agriculture. Discussions also considered the potential of hosting the Farmer Registry and related digital systems at the NCRA’s Tier 3 Data Centre, enhancing data security, local ownership, and interoperability.
Dr. Sankoh, Director of Technology at the Ministry of Communications, emphasized the importance of infrastructure sharing among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to support the country’s digital transformation efforts.
Mr. Massaquoi reiterated NCRA’s commitment to providing national ID services and infrastructure to individuals, MDAs, and the private sector, particularly in support of His Excellency’s Feed Salone flagship project. He stated, “The NCRA is fully committed to supporting the Ministry of Agriculture on this project to ensure its success, providing necessary tools to reduce duplication and enhance accountability across the sector.”
Following the meeting, the Director General established a technical team comprising members from the NCRA ICT Directorate, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Communications, and Tiwai Memory Masters to discuss and advise on the best way forward for implementing the NIN-Farmer Linkage project.
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