Improve Agricultural Statistics in Africa A component of the ISI Global Strategy Satellite Conference on Agricultural Statistics Maputo, 13th and 14th of August, 2009

Outline: Focus on Africa What has already been done The initial AFCAS Vision and the landscape of institutions and initiatives The agreed framework for Statistical Capacity Building Achievements Existing commitments and resources Gaps and support requests in FANRS Options for donor coordination and support

The 1999 AFCAS Vision already integrated the elements of the new ISI strategy An integrated approach to National Agricultural Statistics Systems Including food security, forestry and fisheries statistics, market information, early warning, and crop forecasts Inclusive of broader household data, especially panels Supporting monitoring and evaluating and impact assessment Harmonisation and rationalisation of data collection and dissemination activities

More AFCAS consensus Creating an efficient link between agricultural and population censuses Requires agricultural module in the population census Integration of community information into population and Ag censuses Sample-based approaches to agricultural censuses With census enumeration units as first stage units Integrate an agricultural module in national household data collection efforts Stronger linkages between data producers and users

Implementation The TA program designed at time was never properly funded And therefore the AFCAS consensus has not yet been realized Despite limited support FAO and AFCAS have refined vision and approaches Via FAO technical assistance projects, FAO-CP, and a dedicated Trust fund Via Sector Support operation, as realized finally in Ghana and Mozambique

FAO has also implemented, developed or disseminated International Handbooks on Rural Household, Livelihood and Well-being On sampling And more Disseminated new approaches to collection of livestock statistics, and nomadic livestock statistics Modernization of FAOSTAT and implementation of CountrySTAT But since 1999 then the landscape of institutions and initiatives have changed significantly Handbook developed by a consortium Members of consortium:

African Commission agricultural FAO African Commission agricultural Statistics (AFCAS) UN STAT COMM UN Stat Institute Stat Comm for Africa . AfDB. World Bank, IMF... UK, EU, Norway... ICP-AFRICA GDDS Trust funds Program support Training INT STAT INSTITUTE Professional Assoc Agricultual Statistics Committee 5 AFRICAN TRAINING CENTERS With supporting international training Institutions INT HOUSEHOLD SURVEY NETWORK SUBREGIONAL INITIATIVES AFRISTAT 3 AFRITACS others PARIS 21 Partnership of 300 Member Task Team on AgStatistics (FAO) UNECA Afr Stat Coord Comm Afr Center for Stat. Afr Symp on Statl Development Ref erence Regional Strat Framew

Marrakesh Action Plan for Statistics (2004) National statistical development strategies for all low- income countries by 2006 Preparations for the 2010 census round Increase financing for statistical capacity Building Estimated at 24-28 mio dollars/year Build on and expand Global Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB) Set up an international Household Survey Network

Resources for Statistical Capacity Building in SSA Annual commitments for 2004-05 was roughly $ 70 mio Biggest contributors: UK, World Bank, European Union, Norway, and African Development Bank; Fund increasingly funneled through sub-regional organizations, especially in the case of AFDB, EU, IMF; A number of partners shifting to budget/sector programs Therefore statistical support needs to be identified early in the project cycle to get funding

Statistical Training Capacities in SSA Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, Uganda Eastern Africa Statistical Training Centre Tanzania (EAST); Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée, Côte d’Ivoire (ENSEA); Institut Sous-Régional de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée, Cameroon; Ecole Nationale d’Economie Appliquée, Senegal (ENEA). Supported by various developed country statistical and economic institutes

Funding for Statistics Education ENSEA, ENEA and EASTC received US$ 2.2 million for 2003-05, and reported about 390 students Funding to statistical training centers and for student scholarships is decreasing, however This is a serious problem for the strategy under discussion

Existing Commitment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation To CountrySTAT initiative Support to 17 countries To rescue effort of AG CENSUS data Also consumption, cost of production data U Pretoria and Minnesota, IFPRI/Harvest Choice (at IFPRI) Zambia, Tanzania, Niger, Uganda, Mali…. To the WFP data collection on food security indicators in 16 countries To the LSMS household panel data collection with strong agricultural modules managed by the World Bank (see presentation tomorrow)

AFCAS support priorities From a review of AFCAS meeting minutes over last ten years Enhanced overall support for National AG Statistics from FAO Via strategy development (link to PARIS 21 and NSDS), support to CountrySTAT Via more workshops for info exchange and training Via more research and technical guidance Implementation of sex-disaggregated data In line with Africa Gender & Development Index Via concepts of sub-holder and sub-holding

More AFCAS Support priorities Collection of fisheries data What about soils and forestry? Support with GIS and remote sensing Including plot measurement and crop forecasting Support to analysis of agricultural data especially sector modeling (FAO-IFPRI link)

Possible additional support An Africa-wide technical assistance team for Agricultural Statistics Who can efficiently manage it? FAO, PARIS 21, its Ag task team, or UNECA Afr. Center of Statistics? An agricultural statistical training initiative for Africa perhaps via a grant fund for scholarships perhaps via support to several of the five institutions Support to research issues on agricultural data collection especially those involving GIS, remote sensing Support to analysis and analytical capacity building Especially for the emerging micro and/or sector-wide data

Implementation strategy questions How to generate additional ideas from African stakeholders? Should there be an international technical assistance team for Africa? a special training program on agricultural statistics? Who could lead these programs? Who to lead the effort to mobilize finance?

Africa need not wait for the final ISI strategy Then what should be the next steps?