The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFR), in collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has launched digital identity cards featuring multiple wallets for farmers and other Nigerians.
This initiative aims to enhance food security and drive growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This was contained was in a statement jointly signed by Joel Oruche, the Director of Information at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, and Kayode Adegoke, the Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, issued on Thursday in Abuja.
The statement noted that the development was in tandem with the National Identity Number (NIN) enabled farmer registry and the Government to People (G2P) card initiative.
“This project is designed to address the Federal Ministry’s immediate challenges of identity and authentication, required to deliver government services efficiently and accurately,” the Government said on Thursday in the statement.
They said the initiatives aligned “with the Government’s commitment to improving transparency, efficiency and ensuring inclusivity under the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, of which food security is a primary objective.
“It aims to eradicate the challenges faced by FMAFS in efficiently delivering well-intended government programmes to the targeted citizens.
Highlighting the benefits of the initiative, the Government stated: “The adoption of this card allows the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) to uniquely identify all farmers, deliver various agricultural services securely, and eliminate risks and fraud. It also provides end-to-end visibility within the agricultural value chain, fostering scalability.”
The statement outlined that services offered through the card include farmer financing, input distribution, farmland mapping linked to identity, extension services monitoring and evaluation, agency banking, and a variety of third-party services.
It further reads: “In line with the President’s directive mandating all MDAs to integrate the National Identification Number (NIN) in the delivery of government services, FMAFS has partnered with NIMC to utilize the National Identity Management System in establishing a robust farmer registry. This registry will link each farmer’s NIN and biometric identity data to their farmland and related details, such as the size of the holding and the types of crops or livestock.”
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By connecting this NIN-backed registry to the G2P (Government-to-Person) card, the Ministry can deliver targeted, secured aid to farmers and other beneficiaries under its programmes.
The G2P card ecosystem, an initiative enabling MDAs to issue NIN-enabled cards, allows the cards to serve as both identification and a platform for various programs. The ecosystem’s standout feature is a biometric card with multiple wallets capable of processing transactions offline, ensuring support reaches beneficiaries in the most remote areas.
“The card is unique to each individual, and all Nigerians and legal residents are eligible to obtain it, regardless of their banking status. Each MDA adopting the G2P card will customize and personalize it for their specific programs,” the statement added.
According to the statement, “Within this framework, NIMC will provide the foundational identity ecosystem to FMAFS, who, as the owner of both the farmer registry and G2P card scheme, will provide government services via the issued G2P cards, tailored to the needs of the farmers supported by the Ministry at the national and sub-national levels.
“The G2P card has a large capacity in-card chip that stores beneficiary identity, know your customer (KYC), picture, and fingerprints. In addition, it has two applets and several wallets dedicated to multiple types of programmes, which provide needed flexibility and channels for multiple interventions to be implemented against the same unique identity.
“The card is unique to each citizen, and every Nigerian and legal resident is eligible to obtain it, whether banked or unbanked. The G2P card will be owned by and personalised by each MDA that adopts its usage.
“Within this framework, NIMC will provide the foundational identity ecosystem to FMAFS, who, as the owner of both the farmer registry and G2P card scheme, will provide government services via the issued G2P cards, tailored to the needs of the farmers supported by the Ministry at the national and sub-national levels.
The G2P card has a large capacity in-card chip that stores beneficiary identity, know your customer (KYC), picture, and fingerprints. In addition, it has two applets and several wallets dedicated to multiple types of programmes, which provide needed flexibility and channels for multiple interventions to be implemented against the same unique identity
This flexibility is required to address infrastructure challenges limiting identity verification and digital evidence of beneficiary access when implementing government programmes.
“The G2P biometric cards are processed through a bespoke but interoperable biometrics Point of Sale (POS) acceptance device, which requires biometrics to access and operate.
The G2P biometric card is designed to overcome infrastructure challenges that hinder identity verification and beneficiary access during government programs. Operable through specialised biometric POS devices, the card ensures secure transactions and service delivery in any location. Functioning as a digital wallet or prepaid card, it supports government activities like subsidies, loans, welfare disbursements, pensions, and other FMAFS initiatives.
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