# National traceability systems and agricultural digital public infrastructure > Farmer1st helps governments and national programmes build national traceability systems and agricultural digital public infrastructure: a farmer registry, plot mapping, export traceability, delivery of inputs and subsidies, and surveys of the farming population. It integrates with existing national institutions and systems, never competes with them, and data can be hosted in-country. ## What you need - **A reliable national farmer registry** — One consented record per farmer and per plot, usable by every ministry and programme that serves farmers. - **Export traceability that buyers accept** — Origin data that lets exporters meet importing-market requirements such as the EUDR, from a national system. - **Sovereignty over national data** — Data hosted in the country it comes from, governed by national rules and institutions. - **Programmes that reach the right farmers** — Inputs, subsidies and extension services delivered to verified beneficiaries, with a record of what was delivered. - **Evidence for policy** — Timely, verified information about the farming population to design and evaluate policy. ## What you can build - **National farmer and plot registry** — Farmers registered with consent and plots mapped offline-first, with quality checks and deduplication. - **National export traceability system** — Purchases linked to registered plots through the chain, with data exporters can use for due diligence. - **Input and subsidy distribution** — Entitlements, distribution and receipt recorded per farmer, so programmes can see who received what. - **Surveys of the farming population** — Targeted surveys by region, crop, gender or age, with consented and verified answers. - **Extension and training at scale** — Good agricultural practices delivered to the farmers who need them, with quizzes to measure what was learned. Governments are increasingly asked to know who farms, where, and what leaves the country. Farmer1st is the first-mile infrastructure built around farmers: a farmer-controlled network where companies, governments and organisations collect, verify and share origin data, and build the services they need on top of it. For governments and national programmes, it is a foundation for national traceability systems and agricultural digital public infrastructure. ## What is agricultural digital public infrastructure? It is the shared, public-interest layer that every agricultural service can build on: a registry of farmers and plots, the ability to verify identity and location, and the channels to reach farmers directly. When it exists, ministries, exporters, banks and development programmes stop collecting the same facts again, and farmers are asked once. ## How does Farmer1st work with existing national institutions? It integrates, it never competes. National systems for land, agriculture, customs, statistics or identity stay the reference. Farmer1st adds the first-mile layer, collected in the field, and connects to those systems through [data integration](/services/data-integration/). Governance stays with national institutions. ## Can the data stay in the country? Yes. Data can be hosted in the country it comes from, governed by national rules. Farmers decide what is shared, with whom and for what, and their consent is recorded. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. See [Trust](/trust/). ## How do you build a national farmer registry and plot map? Field agents register [smallholders](/glossary/smallholder/) and map plots offline-first, with AI added to support them and the teams who review the data. [Field agent management](/services/field-agent-management/) organises campaigns across regions, with supervision and quality checks. [Geo & polygons](/services/geo-polygons/) validates each [polygon](/glossary/polygon/) and assesses deforestation up to today. Existing lists from programmes and cooperatives are imported and deduplicated first. ## How does a national system support export traceability? Purchases are linked to registered plots through collectors, cooperatives and exporters, with an auditable chain of custody through [traceability & certification](/services/traceability-certification/). Exporters get the [first-mile traceability](/glossary/first-mile-traceability/) and [geolocation](/glossary/geolocation/) data they need for due diligence in importing markets, including the [EUDR](/glossary/eudr/). ## Can the same infrastructure deliver programmes? Yes. Inputs, subsidies and extension services can be delivered to verified beneficiaries, with distribution and receipt recorded per farmer. Farmers can check entitlements and receive messages through the [farmer app](/services/farmer-app/), with voice and local languages. [Training & quizzes](/services/training-quizzes/) brings good agricultural practices to the farmers who need them and measures what was learned. ## How do you survey the farming population? [Farmer surveys](/services/farmer-surveys/) reach a targeted population by region, crop, gender or age. Answers are consented and verified, and farmers are fairly compensated for their contribution. The results give ministries timely evidence for policy design and evaluation. ## Where do we start? We work with your teams to map institutions, existing systems and objectives, then prototype the first component in the [Nursery](/nursery/) and refine it with you before it scales. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Farmer1st replace our national systems? No. Farmer1st integrates with existing national institutions and systems, such as land, agriculture, customs and statistics registries, and never competes with them. It adds the first-mile layer and connects it to what already exists. ### Can the data be hosted in our country? Yes. Data can be hosted in the country it comes from, under national rules. See [Trust](/trust/). ### Can a national system help exporters with the EUDR? Yes. A national registry of farmers and plots, with verified geolocation and export traceability, gives exporters the origin data they need for due diligence under the [EUDR](/glossary/eudr/). See the [EUDR guide](/guides/eudr/). ### How are farmers' rights protected? Farmers decide what is shared, with whom and for what, and their consent is recorded. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. ### How do we start? We map your institutions, existing systems and objectives with your teams, then prototype the first component with you in the [Nursery](/nursery/) and refine it before it scales.