Liberia Moves to address agricultural data needs

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is providing technical assistance to Liberia to address the country’s data needs and bridging the data gaps, especially in locations where collecting statistical data is not easy due to adverse weather events or difficulty in accessing remote locations.

Having reliable and high-quality data on the country’s agricultural production is crucial in supporting sound policy decision-making for sustainable development and meeting the growing demands for monitoring policy agendas.

Weather in Liberia sometimes impacts the plan to conduct surveys.

Antony Dymacole, Statistical Assistant, LISGIS said, “When it comes to survey in Liberia, one of the most [difficult] challenges is the accessibility. Most of our roads, they are not good.”

The surveying teams often must leave their vehicles stuck on muddy roads and walk long distances to reach farmers who are not always cooperating either out of lack of trust or are unable to quantify their production accurately in the standard measurement units.

Farmer Suzana Tarway said, “I was a little bit afraid, but when Onika explained it to me, and we went through the survey document and she interviewed me, and from then I understood it, I am happy about all the information she asked me.”

The introduction of new technologies helped advance the data collection process.

Yakob Seid, Senior Statistician, FAO Statistics Division said, “A methodology like a crop cutting for instance, it helps us to have an objective estimate at the end of the day, because it goes through, all the process of crop cutting, the measuring the crop cut, the wet weight, the dry weight, etc, to come up with more reliable estimates that can come from the actual field, which the crop is growing.”

FAO is currently providing technical assistance to 31 countries in the context of its 50×2030 Initiative, which aims to bridge the agricultural data gap by transforming data systems in 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America by 2030.

José Rosero Moncayo, Director and Chief Statistician, FAO Statistics Division, said,

“Policymakers, countries, and society at large need good data to make good policies, to implement them, and also to monitor and measure its impact. That is one of the most important facts of the 50 by 2030. It is to use the data for the service of big development objectives such as eradicating hunger and reducing poverty.”

Accurate data helps governments attract funding from international donors, who often require robust evidence to commit the resources.

Bintia Stephen-Tchicaya, FAO Representative in Liberia, said, “Without reliable data, interventions could be poorly targeted or even ineffective. Data is also useful to empower the local communities because the data collected involves their own development needs.”

The 50×2030 Initiative is a 10-year, USD 500 million multi-agency partnership that seeks to bridge the agricultural data gap by transforming data systems in 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America by 2030.

It is implemented through a unique partnership between the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

50×2030 works directly with partner countries to promote data-smart agriculture to address food crises and climate vulnerabilities, improve rural livelihoods, create jobs, and build resilience.

FAO is currently providing technical assistance to 31 countries in the context of the 50×2030 Initiative.

Africanews/Hauwa M.