Building the knowledge and skills of individuals involved in the data production process continue to be a priority in the implementation of the second Africa action plan of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics (GSARS) Phase II project. This will ensure availability of data that supports decision-makers with better allocation of limited resources in a beneficial and long-lasting manner to positively impact smallholder populations and to help track progress against key outcomes. 

Under this background, the first regional training on agricultural statistics was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 08 to 18 November 2022 and attended by the national statistics offices (NSO) and agricultural statistics offices of line ministries across 17 countries. The workshop was the first step in the capacity development programme aiming to prepare the countries in implementing an Integrated Agricultural Survey Programme (IASP). Adhering to the IASP require certain level of statistical knowledge and practical experience on basic agricultural statistics.  

To continuously develop and sustain the capacity of countries in producing quality agricultural statistics, a Second Regional Training/Workshop on Basic Agricultural Statistics will be held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 03 to 14 July 2023. To replicate the success of the first regional training, this second training will follow the same approach in providing an overview of the agricultural statistics data cycle, the minimum set of national indicators (including gender indicators and sex-disaggregated data), that can be mainstreamed in agricultural survey programme. It will continue to contribute to building the minimum critical mass of capacity required to engage in survey program operations. Being generalist in coverage, the training will be complemented with more advanced training packages focusing on specific thematic aspects associated with agricultural survey programs (e.g., livestock and crop production, losses on the farm, etc.). In providing the overview of the general framework of agricultural statistics, emphasis will be laid on the economic, social, gender, and environmental aspects of the framework and their interlinkages. In addition, the training will introduce the data sources, statistical units, and data collection methods. Further, it will be designed to cover all the fundamental aspects constitutive of a sustainable sample survey program, including survey and questionnaire design, data collection operations, data processing, analysis, and dissemination. 

The training will be jointly organised by UNECA, and the FAO in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics. It will benefit NSOs and agricultural statistics offices in line ministries of seven countries1, and at least eight (8) African regional economic communities (RECs) and institutional partners.