FG Launches Digital Initiative for Cooperative Sector

The Federal Government of Nigeria has launched a digital transformation initiative for the cooperative sector to enhance smallholder farmers' access to capital, agricultural inputs, and markets. This announcement was made by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister for Cooperative Affairs, Sen. Abdullahi, during the National Technical Workshop on Cooperative Sector Digitalisation in Abuja.

The initiative is part of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP 2030). Abdullahi emphasized that the digitalisation would empower farmer groups to access finance and government interventions while providing essential data for effective agricultural planning.

The initiative will utilize the National Cooperative Smart Registry (NCSR) to facilitate cooperative registration and verification, generating a Cooperative Verification Number (CVN) and a Cooperative Member Identification Number (CoopID). This digital identity system aims to improve the identification of legitimate cooperatives, which is crucial for credit profiling and risk management, directly linking to the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.

The government has begun mobilizing cooperative stakeholders nationwide in preparation for the bank's establishment.