Access to mobile phones, gender, community of residence and level of education are all factors that influence NIN possession. Women who are uneducated, have no access to a phone and live in hard-to-reach communities are less likely to appreciate the advantages of access to technology and information, and thereby the benefits of enrolling for NIN.

I4ALL | IITA research finding

Inclusion for all, the pro-poor advocacy platform, successfully hosted the first edition of the “Inclusion for all Dialogues” event on 26th July.

The event, which focused on “Digital ID for the Last Mile – Enabling Access to Digital ID for Rural Female Agricultural Workers,” brought together a selection of stakeholders to discuss and address the digital inclusion barriers faced by rural women in Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.

I4ALL aims to use data evidence to deepen understanding of the challenges faced by impoverished populations and collaborate with multiple stakeholders to advocate for their removal.

The ultimate objective is to drive increased ownership and usage of digital financial services, amongst the most excluded groups thus reducing financial exclusion nationwide.

The event featured an esteemed line-up of panelists who lent their expertise and insights to the event including, Professor Janice Olawoye – Lead Research Consultant from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Osasuyi Dirisu – Executive Director, Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), Ms. Uche Chigbo – Director Operations, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Dr. Paul Oluikpe – Head, Financial Inclusion Delivery Unit, Central Bank of Nigeria.

The insightful panel discussion shed light on   the supply and demand side barriers to digital ID ownership for rural female agricultural workers and how they can be overcome to facilitate their active economic inclusion and participation leveraging technology.

Also in attendance were notable personalities from various State Governments including Mrs. Omotayo Adeola the SA, Trade & Investments Ekiti State Government, representing His Excellency, Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State, Mr. Osa Bazuaye, Head of Data Agency, Edo State Government, representing His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and Dr. Zayyad Tsiga, Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Residents Identity Management Agency (KADRIMA).

Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, convener and head of Inclusion for all; described the event and its relevance stating – “Our aim is to cultivate a strategic platform of cross-cutting actors with a shared goal to uncover the links that exist between income level, identity ownership and financial inclusion in order to identify opportunities to accelerate the pace of digital financial inclusion”

To further contextualise the event, Engr. Aliyu Aziz, Director General of NIMC, delivered the keynote address, focusing on the progress made in National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment in Nigeria, the challenges faced, and the approaches in consideration to overcome them.

He underscored the importance of data evidence in shaping policies and highlighted key findings from the summary study report. 

Engr. Aziz reiterated the persistent enrolment gender gap, stating that “Of the over 101 million registered persons to date, only 44% are females in spite of the notion that there are more women than men. Flowing from the surveys and advise from Inclusion for all at Africa Practice, NIMC has taken some actionable steps that have profound implications on the ID project.”

Zaina Sore, Head of Capacity Development at IITA presented the findings from the targeted research study on “Access to Identity, Empowerment, Livelihood, and Financial Inclusion of Rural Female Agricultural Workers and Traders in Nigeria.” 

She emphasised the significance of digital identity in empowering these women and transforming their livelihoods. Stating that “Access to national identification as a means for greater financial inclusion is critical for women in remote rural areas. As many of them engage in different agricultural activities and trading particularly in the informal sector, it is important that we better understand their needs and challenges to tailor the services that will lead to greater inclusion and economic empowerment.

The study, commissioned to IITA by I4ALL, was carried out in the first quarter of the year in Kano, Oyo and Rivers States; revealing some new insights and validating pre-existing data insights from I4ALL’s analysis of the 2020 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) A2F (Access to Finance) dataset.

For instance, Kano State recorded higher levels of NIN ownership (77%) among the respondent groups compared to Oyo (58.1%) and Rivers (46.6%) contradicting our hypothesis of lower enrolment rates in the North.

However, the research highlighted how socio-cultural norms can be used as a deliberate strategy to drive female enrolment in the North.

The barriers to NIN enrolment remained consistent, from the cost of transportation to distance from enrolment centres and tedious enrolment processes.

Commenting on the findings, Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo said: 

“Universal access to formal identification requires an intentional focus on the most vulnerable Nigerians – likely to be poor female farmers in rural communities. Thus far, NIMC has done a great job with the momentum achieved towards ID enrolment of Nigerians, and it must be maintained.  That said, reaching the last mile is the most challenging part; and specific and targeted approaches must be designed and implemented to reach them successfully and leave no one behind”.

The NIMC Identity Strategy clearly recognizes the need to ensure that excluded populations are included in the enrolment process, and this research reinforces that need, demonstrating the urgency for action.

The poorest excluded populations are most often the hardest to reach, and can be the most resistant to participation, but stand to gain the most from the range of government and financial services that inclusion enables.

To achieve NIMC’s ambitious enrolment targets, all relevant stakeholders across public, private and grassroots must work together to ensure that the enrolment system reaches those who need access to the services the most – the vulnerable and marginalised.

The Inclusion for all Dialogues event highlighted the importance of collective efforts in creating an inclusive and equitable society. Chinasa reinforced this, stating that,

“by empowering rural female agricultural workers with digital identification, we can unlock their potential, enhance economic productivity, and drive positive change for the entire nation. I4ALL remains committed to its mission of fostering financial inclusion for all Nigerians and will continue working tirelessly with partners, stakeholders, and policymakers to address these pressing challenges.”

Inclusion for All (I4ALL) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) are set to launch the “Inclusion for All Dialogues” through the formal presentation of the research report on ‘Access to Identity, Empowerment, Livelihood and Financial Inclusion of Female Agricultural Workers and Traders in Nigeria’.

Overview

Financial exclusion is a significant driver of inequality and poverty. According to the Access to Finance (A2F) survey conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) in 2020, only 49.5% of Nigerian adults had access to formal bank accounts, representing 52.5 million people, while a total of 59 million Nigerians remained unbanked.

Of these, 73% do not have the identity documents required to open a Tier 3 bank account. Research from I4ALL, based on the A2F data, indicates that the poorer you are, the less likely you are to have an ID and that the number of people that referenced ID as a key barrier to opening a bank account or accessing credit increased by 500% between 2018 and 2020.

While substantial progress has been made in NIN enrolment in Nigeria since then, with more than 100 million Nigerians enrolled as of May 2023, there are still 48 million Nigerians without NINs who are likely to be the poorest and hardest to reach.

These Nigerians are also likely to be the most in need of the range of government and financial services that NIN inclusion enables.

Nigeria’s financially excluded population is largely rural, female, and engage in smallholder farming or trading.

Of the 38 million completely financially excluded adults, 81% live in rural areas, and 56% are female. 36% are entirely dependent on other family members for income, while 31% are small traders and 27% smallholder farmers.

Access to financial services is a critical requirement for sustainable rural development.

Context

Inclusion for all (I4ALL) seeks to leverage data and evidence to deepen knowledge about the multiple barriers that keep poor Nigerians excluded from formal financial services while working with multiple stakeholders to advocate for their removal.

The goal is to reduce financial exclusion by driving increased ownership and usage of digital financial services. I4ALL Dialogues are multi-stakeholder engagements for knowledge sharing and exchange, leveraging insights curated by Inclusion for all in alignment with its advocacy campaigns.

Based I4ALL’s analysis of EFInA (Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access) data, the team is established that rural women engaged in trading or farming are most likely to be financially excluded.

On the back of this, I4ALL commissioned IITA to conduct a targeted survey on the impact of exclusion on rural female agricultural workers/farmers and traders; particularly in terms of their access to official identification and the resultant restriction on their participation in the formal financial system in Nigeria.

For context, 80% of Nigeria’s farmers are smallholders – defined as working on an area of land less than 10 hectares. 70% of them live in rural areas, and 70% are also women.

Smallholder farmers are key to Nigeria’s food security, responsible for around 90% of the agricultural produce grown in Nigeria, and 98% of food consumed in homes, barring wheat. They are also a critical contributor to the country’s economy, with agriculture accounting for around a quarter of GDP.

Despite this, 72% of small-scale farmers live below the poverty line of USD 1.9 per day. They face political, economic and financial constraints, which hinder their ability to enhance production as well as their own incomes.

Male out-migration from rural areas to other locations or urban centres in some instances is strong enough to suggest a ‘feminization of agriculture’ and major structural changes in smallholder agriculture are occurring, irrespective of culture.

I4All Dialogues

During the virtual event next week, policy makers, regulators, CSOs, Service providers will discuss the ‘Digital ID for the last mile – enabling access to digital ID for rural female agricultural workers.’ 

I4All Dialogues is an issues-based and evidence-backed multi-stakeholder convening platform to inform conversations and discuss solutions to the barriers that prevent digital financial inclusion in Nigeria.

Lawal noted that the bank is ready and determined to tap into the energy of the vibrant young population in Nigeria by providing incentives that would make agriculture attractive to them.

The Ecobank Managing Director spoke at the Agribusiness Investors Network organized by the Innovative Youth in Agriculture (I-Youth) held at the Ecobank Pan Africa Center (EPAC), Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event organized by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in partnership with Mastercard Foundation and Ecobank, had in attendance the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, representatives of African Development Bank, Lagos State Government, Nigerian Agribusiness Group, Fintech Association of Nigeria, and some other financial institutions.

According to Lawal, “For us as a Pan African bank, we are committed to supporting any investment that will stimulate the growth of Nigeria’s economy and transform the opportunities in Nigeria into business. We are determined to tap into the energy of the vibrant young population in Nigeria by providing incentives that would make agriculture attractive to them.”

Mr Lawal was optimistic that the event which presented opportunity to discuss trends in global agribusiness, digital financing, import and export opportunities, inter-continental partnerships, would go a long way to repositioning the agriculture sector within the Nigerian economy.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Ken Dashiell, Deputy Director, Partnership and Delivery, IITA, stated that it has become imperative for stakeholders to work together to empower the youth in transforming Nigeria’s Food system. Dashiell said government and other developmental partners must begin to put the right policies and programs in place to attract the youth into agriculture.

The training is targeted at young Nigerians between the ages of 18-40 years and will cover key areas of specialization including poultry, aquaculture, horticulture, and value addition.

Announcing the training partnership in Lagos, Ms. Ayo Osolake, Head, Public Sector and Agricbusiness said the training is designed for both digital and physical audiences and is structured into phases. The first phase will last 4 weeks and will be strictly online while the second phase will be hybrid, entailing practical sessions and farm visits.

She stated that Ecobank “as a Pan-African institution, it is important for us to continue to sow the seeds of growth in the communities where we operate, especially among young people who are the future of our nation and in real economy-impacting sectors like Agriculture. This is at the heart of our partnership with IITA, where we are combining the full scale of our expertise to empower and equip young Nigerians with the prerequisite knowledge for success in Agriculture. Our commitment to helping young people create wealth is unwavering, and we are keen on working with similar-minded stakeholders in other sectors to help nurture the dreams of our youths.”

“The program is designed with a view to expanding the frontiers of agricultural opportunities for Nigerians, especially in terms of research, development and wealth creation. Now is a great time for anyone considering a future in agriculture to be a part of this training. The structure and areas of specialization have been carefully chosen to boost the capabilities of all attendees. The training will also cover both theoretical and practical aspects of everything they need to learn.  It is a pleasure to work with a foremost institution like the IITA for this, seeing that we share similar values.” she stated.

“This training offers an opportunity to learn new technologies along the focus value chain, build business skills and competencies in agribusiness management, mentoring, and coaching opportunities, linkages to finance, exposure to business plan development, and loan application.

She stated that there will also be post-training support to improve start-up identity and market linkages.

How to Apply:

The training is open only to Ecobank account holders who are encouraged to register through this link.

Interested persons who would live to take advantage of the training can easily become Ecobank accounts holders by downloading the Xpresspoint App and signing up or by visiting any Ecobank branch nearest to them.

Ellah Lakes Plc., has announced the signing of a Seed Production and Technical Support Agreement between Adani Staple Crop Processing Zone Food Company Limited, a subsidiary of Ellah Lakes and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (“IITA”) on a seed multiplication program which, in the first phase, involves the production of high yielding soybean seed varieties on 5 hectares of land located in IITA Ibadan, Oyo State and subsequently, on Five Hundred (500) hectares of land located in Adani, Enugu State.

IITA brings to this endeavour with Ellah lakes, its expertise in the production and supply of high-quality breeder and foundation seedlings to private sector seed producers. The partnership agreement between both companies will facilitate the production of premium quality soybean seedlings for cultivation at Adani SCPZ in Enugu State with IITA providing all the technical support required to produce the seedlings for the company.

This improved variety of breeder seeds is expected to yield 2.5 metric tons of quality soybean per hectare, a 150% higher than the Nigerian national average of 1.0 metric ton per hectare and at par with output in South American countries such as Brazil and Argentina. Soybean is an important source of plant-based protein that contains dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Soybean consists of 20% oil, making it an important crop for producing edible oil. A by-product from the oil production, soymeal, is used as a high-protein animal feed in the poultry and aquaculture industries.

The demand for soybean in Nigeria is estimated to be in excess of 1.2 million metric tons per annum, which is a market value of over N360 billion (approximately US$780 million).

Additionally, soybean from Nigeria has huge export potential because Nigerian Soyabean is Non-Genetically Modified, it has a wider range of applications including as input into infant cereals and textured vegetable protein – which is often used as meat analogue or meat extender.

With its partnership with IITA, Adani SCPZ will be able to significantly boost productivity at its 3,700-hectare farm in Adani, Enugu State, and will be on track to achieving a target output of 7,500 metric tons of soybean per annum upon full cultivation of the property.

It also marks an important milestone on the company’s strategic path to build Staple Crop Processing Zones across the country, with Adani being the flagship site.

Speaking on the development, Chuka Mordi, the Chief Executive Officer, commented: “This is a symbolic and significant milestone on our company’s strategic path to build Staple Crop Processing Zones across the country. Adani remains our flagship site and under the supervision of the IITA, we expect to accelerate progress in Enugu State, during the course of 2023”.