To strengthen agricultural data systems and support the Government’s Feed Salone flagship initiative, the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) has partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) to integrate the National Digital Farmer Registry with NCRA’s Biometric Digital ID system, using the National Identification Number (NIN) as a key link.

The meeting, held at the NCRA headquarters, brought together key stakeholders including representatives from the Food Systems Resilience Project (FSRP), the Ministry of Communications, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI) and the implementing technology firm Tiwai Memory Masters. Discussions focused on leveraging the NIN to ensure each farmer in Sierra Leone has a unique, verifiable digital identity, effectively eliminating duplication and inconsistencies in agricultural records.

According to officials, the initiative is in line with the National Civil Registration Act of 2016 and the 2022 Parliamentary Ratification, which mandate the use of the NIN as a unique identifier in the delivery of public services. It also aligns with President Julius Maada Bio’s broader digital transformation agenda aimed at improving governance, service delivery and accountability.

"The integration of the NIN with the Farmer Registry is not just a technical upgrade; it’s a transformation of how we identify and serve our farmers,” stated Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, Director General of the NCRA. “This collaboration is essential for the success of the Feed Salone project and NCRA stands ready to support MAFS in every way necessary.”

Dr. Kepri, Project Coordinator of FSRP and  Dominic Bao, Head of ICT at MAFS, acknowledged the persistent challenges caused by fragmented and unreliable farmer data, which have undermined past agricultural initiatives. They noted that the upcoming Farmer Registry will serve as the primary database for all digital agricultural platforms including e-extension services and agtech systems.

The proposed integration will also explore the possibility of hosting the Farmer Registry on the NCRA’s state-of-the-art Tier 3 Data Centre, which currently manages the country’s civil registration and national ID systems. Dr. Sankoh, Director of Technology at MoCTI, emphasized the importance of infrastructure sharing among Government agencies, noting that the NCRA has taken the lead in promoting shared services to drive digital transformation across the public sector.

During the session, DG Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi established a joint technical team comprising experts from the NCRA ICT Directorate, MAFS, MoCTI and Tiwai Memory Masters to chart the way forward for the implementation of the NIN-Farmer Linkage Project.

This partnership is expected to improve transparency, eliminate duplication and ensure effective targeting of support and services to genuine farmers nationwide. It is also designed to create a foundation for interoperability across agriculture and identity management systems in Sierra Leone.

With the NCRA’s robust civil registration and identification infrastructure in place, including its high-capacity data center, Sierra Leone is well positioned to roll out a unified, secure and reliable digital farmer database; with Digital ID at its core.

The NCRA reaffirmed its commitment to providing Civil Registration, Vital Statistics (CRVS) and ID services nationwide, contributing to a more accountable, efficient and inclusive public service landscape.

  https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/ncra-ministry-of-agriculture-partner-to-digitally-link-farmer-registry-with-national-id-system/