The Global Strategy to improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics (Global Strategy) was developed ten years ago as a blueprint for a coordinated and long-term initiative to address the decline in the agricultural statistical systems of many developing countries. It was designed to provide a “framework for national and international statistical systems that will enable [developing countries] to produce, and to apply, the basic data and information needed in the twenty-first century”. From its very inception, the Global Strategy was designed as a long-term process to be implemented in phases. Phase 1, corresponding to the first Action Plan to implement the Global Strategy, spanned from end 2012 to 2018. The Phase 1 plan was centred on three pillars: (i) establishing a minimum set of core data that countries should disseminate on a regular basis to meet current and emerging demands; (ii) integrating agriculture into national statistical systems (NSSs) to meet the requirements of policymakers and other data users; and (iii) fostering the sustainability of agricultural statistical systems through governance and statistical capacity building. Outputs were produced through three main technical components: Methodological Research, Technical Assistance, and Training. The implementation structure was based on the decentralization of activities to various levels: a Global Office was in charge of overall coordination and of the Research component; regional partners were entrusted with providing technical assistance; and other regional partners were in charge of providing training. The governance structure adopted during the first phase reflected these responsibilities. The governance bodies were: (i) a Global Steering Committee (GSC), that provided overall guidance on and oversight of the execution of the Global Action Plan; (ii) a Global Executive Board (GEB), that acted as the executive committee of the GSC; (iii) Regional Steering Committees (RSCs), which served as decision-making bodies at regional level; (iv) a Global Office, hosted by FAO, tasked with ensuring the overall coordination of the implementation of the Global Strategy and acting as Secretariat of the GSC and the GEB; and (v) Regional Offices (ROs), which coordinated the implementation of regional activities and served as the Secretariat of the RSCs.