An Original Investigation into Theoretical Foundations of Federated Data Markets for Nigeria’s Agricultural Sector

Federated data markets, where data from distributed smallholder agricultural sources is made tradeable while preserving farmer data sovereignty, represent an emerging model that could unlock economic value from Nigerian agricultural data while addressing privacy and equity concerns. This study developed an original theoretical framework for federated data markets in Nigeria's agricultural sector. A multi-disciplinary theory-building methodology was employed: systematic review of data market and federated data economy literature (49 publications from 2018 to 2024), economic modelling of data market dynamics under information asymmetry conditions specific to Nigerian agriculture, structured consultations with 30 agricultural data producers, buyers, and intermediaries in Kaduna and Benue States, and legal analysis of NDPA and Agricultural Produce Act data governance provisions. The theoretical framework identifies three market failure types that standard data market designs do not address in Nigerian agricultural contexts: farmer data literacy deficit preventing informed consent to data transactions, monopsony dynamics in agricultural data purchasing by well-funded agritech platforms, and the public goods character of weather and soil data that reduces private incentives for data sharing. The original Federated Agricultural Data Market Framework (FADM-Nigeria) proposes a governance architecture combining federated technical infrastructure (preventing raw data centralisation), value-sharing mechanisms (ensuring farmer benefit from their data contributions), and public sector data commons provisions. Expert review by 16 data economics and agricultural development specialists confirmed the framework's theoretical and practical originality.

Keywords: federated data market, agricultural data, Nigeria, data sovereignty, data governance