1. National Capabilities, Challenges and data requirements towards meeting food Security in Ghana AfriGEOSS Symposium Tyco City Hotel, Sunyani-Brong Ahafo June 13-15, Godsway k. Banini Deputy Director, SRID-MoFA June 14, 2017, Sunyani

2. Presentation Outline Introduction National Capabilities
Organisation of Agricultural Statistics in Ghana
Overview of Agricultural Survey System in Ghana
Status of Agricultural Survey Data Collection System in Ghana
Data Requirements
Challenges
New Technologies to Explore
What need to be done

3. Introduction
Agricultural development is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), especially those related to poverty and food security and to environment sustainability
The need to measure agricultural performance and the returns of agricultural investment has become an increasing pressing priority
A wide range of important policy issues depends on good quality agricultural data
However, there is lack of sound basis for deciding direction of agricultural development, monitoring crop conditions for advance decision making for imports/exports, food security policy formulation and evaluation of developmental programmes

4. National Capabilities
National capabilities linked to the 4 dimensions of food security
Availability
Accessibility
Stability
Utilisation

5. National Capabilities –cont’d
Availability – domestic production, imports and exports
Accessibility – distribution (road networks, storage facilities), price /affordability
Stability- all year round food availability through own production, imports, strategic reserve, value addition
Utilization – nutrition

6. Organisation of Agricultural Statistics in Ghana
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)
Census of Agriculture
Statistics Research and Information Directorate (SRID)
Annual Sample Surveys of Agriculture (crops and livestock)
Agricultural Market information(weekly/monthly)

7. Overview of Agricultural Survey System in Ghana
Two (2) systems for collection agricultural data/information
Reporting System (administrative statistics)
Sample Survey System
Sampling Method used is the List Frame Sampling (LFS)
The LFS method also involves
1. Interview method and
2. Actual measurement (cropped area and crop cutting)

8. Overview of Agricultural Survey System in Ghana (cont’d)
Four (4) Field Survey Operations under LFS Method
Creation of sampling frame and selection of sample households
Interview of sample households
Area measurement – (by actual field measurement)
Yield measurement – (by crop cutting)

9. Status of Agricultural Survey Data Collection System in Ghana
Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) undertake both agric. Extension and data collection
Data collection is carried out at Enumeration Area (EA) level and collated at district level
District level data is collated at Regional level
Regional offices submit to national office regional data

10. Data Requirements Weather forecasts
Crop Forecasts – early warning on crop development, pest and disease infestation
Water levels in major dams and rivers

11. Challenges Duplicated efforts in data collection – conflicting figures
Declining resource allocation to agricultural statistics
Lack of up-to-date list frame – the last Census of Agric. was conducted in 1984/85; developing list frames under Agric. surveys expensive
General low appreciation of the importance of quality data at various levels
Inadequate staffing especially at field level
Low adoption and use of modern technology for agric data collection
Poor -post harvest handling, road network affecting food availability and affordability
Poor warehousing/storage facility
Lack of standards and weights in commodity marketing
Lack of well organised marketing structures for livestock

12. New Techniques to Explore
GIS
CAPI
Earth observation data e.g. Monitoring for Environment and Security for Africa (MESA)
Dot Sampling for crop area determination and yield estimation
SARAAH-H model for crop monitoring

13. What need to be done
Given the emerging data needs (impact of agric on environment), investment in agriculture; biofuel; water and land use, climate change, there is the need for new conceptual framework – i.e. adoption and use of modern technology for agricultural data collection

14. Thank you