The Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural StatisticsBetter, faster and cost-effective collection of agricultural and rural data to support governments in making evidence-based policy decisions

Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics

What countries need to know The Global Strategy means:

statisticians’ skills are strengthened

statisticians can access cost-effective methodologies

agricultural statistics development is a national priority

What resource partners need to know

The Global Strategy means: countries have sustainable

statistical systems

countries produce reliable and timely data

policies are better formulated and monitored

The Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics supports countries in meeting current and emerging data requirements by producing timely and cost-effective national and international statistics. These statistics can be used by governments to develop and monitor agricultural policies addressing poverty and food insecurity, by international agencies and researchers, and also by farmers when deciding which crops to grow and how to market their production.

Currently in its first phase of implementation (2012–2017), the Global Strategy’s focus is on developing tools and methodologies for designing and undertaking surveys, and on supporting countries in building their statistical human resource capacities and infrastructure. By the end of its implementation in 2017, countries should have a critical mass of agricultural statisticians, know-how for adopting the main cost-effective methods and a clear vision for developing their national agricultural statistical systems.

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Governance: Executing the Global Strategy through national, regional and global partnersThe Global Strategy governance model ensures that work is carried out transparently through a consultative process. It enables the integration of the programme activities at regional and country levels, including planning, monitoring and reporting.

The main global governing body, the Global Steering Committee (GSC), provides strategic guidance and oversight for the execution of the Global Strategy’s action plan. It comprises stakeholders from national statistical offices, regional organizations, international organizations and resource partners. In addition, some GSC members are part of the Global Executive Board, which provides an additional layer of accountability and guidance. The Global Office of the Global Strategy, which is hosted by the FAO Statistics Division, serves as the secretariat for the GSC and manages its operations.

Work at the regional level is led by the regional implementing partners, who provide technical assistance to countries and liaise with regional and national stakeholders. The Global Strategy is funded and currently being implemented in two regions – Africa, and Asia and the Pacific. Regional implementing partners for these regions are the African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific/Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), and the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAORAP). Both regions maintain their own Regional Steering Committees, which provide another venue for countries to participate actively in the Global Strategy.

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Developing innovative cost-effective methods for supporting agricultural policies Since its launch in 2012, the Global Strategy has worked with a host of institutions, international experts and statisticians from developing countries to identify and prioritize research needs. It has also mobilized financial and human resources to develop cost-effective methods for gathering statistics in a timely way across the breadth and depth of the agricultural and rural sectors. In parallel, the Global Strategy has worked with partner organizations to develop clear guidelines, handbooks and training materials to guide statisticians on how to choose and implement these methods.

Prior to publication, all guidelines and handbooks undergo a rigorous peer review process culminating in a review by the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), which includes ten of the world’s top experts in agricultural statistics.

Agriculture sector: cross-cutting themes

• Develop a framework for agricultural statistics

• Improve methodologies for creating master sampling frames

• Improve data collection methods

• Improve methods for assessing food security

• Improve quality and use of administrative data

• Improve methodology for data analysis and data dissemination

• Improve methodology for using remote sensing and integrating geographic information and statistics

Research themes: a broad agenda to meet broad needs The research themes prioritized by the Global Strategy illustrate the breadth and depth of its research agenda.

Specific issues within the sector

• Improve methods for crop estimates

• Improve methods for estimating livestock and livestock products

• Improve indicators and collection methods for small-scale fisheries

• Improve data collection for forestry

• Improve methodology for market statistics

• Develop agri-environmental indicators and collection methods

• Improve indicators and collection methods for gender/youth-related data

• Improve rural statistics

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THREE EXAMPLES OF THE GLOBAL STRATEGY’S WORK

1. Computer-assisted personal interiewing (CAPI)Developing technologies to reduce cost and time of data collection – while improving the quality of information To aid the transition from slow, costly and error-prone paper-and-pen interviewing (PAPI) to computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), the Global Strategy and the World Bank have developed a new software tool. Not only does this tool reduce the time and cost of data collection, it requires only minimal training for those who use it in the field. Better yet, the Global Strategy has made CAPI freely available to all who need it to conduct agricultural surveys. This means that national survey units can train their own staff to use it, rather than hiring consultants to carry out surveys. Its simple point-and-click interface has been tested, and used for complex surveys in many regions. Results from surveys indicate that such a tool has the potential to greatly reduce the time between data collection and its use in policy-making, by eliminating the need to transfer data from paper to a database, reducing errors by performing internal validation and cross-checks, and lessening the load of data cleaning.

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2. Master sampling frameTimely information from well-designed sample surveys results in better policies In many countries, data on agriculture only come from agricultural censuses and administrative reporting systems, which can be problematic in terms of both frequency and accuracy for the following reasons.

• Agricultural censuses are usually only taken once every ten years, which means governments may be making decisions and creating policy on data that are up to ten years old.

• Administrative reporting systems are usually based on subjective assessments by field agents (extension or veterinary officers) which means the data quality depends on the knowledge, experience and training of people.

Thus, it becomes increasingly important to collect agricultural data through well-designed sample surveys, which call for collecting information on households or farms that accurately represent the population. Since sample surveys do not require collecting information on every single farm or household in the population, they can be quick, cost-effective and give a snapshot of what is happening on the ground. This helps governments to detect and respond quickly to crises as well as develop better policies.

However, many do not have comprehensive sampling frames. For example, a frame may include households but not necessarily farms. In many developing governments, some households are farms, but not necessarily the other way around. Thus, it becomes difficult to understand how agriculture affects households through a sample survey.

The solution is developing a master sampling frame which links farms to households. The Global Strategy Handbook on Master Sampling Frame for Agriculture provides countries with a solid foundation for conducting sample surveys that increases understanding of how changes in agriculture affect households and food security. Having a well-designed master sampling frame also provides countries with a basis for carrying out an Agricultural Integrated Survey (AGRIS).

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TunisiaGlobal Strategy pilot project determines cost-of-production (CoP)

In mid-2015, a group of Tunisian

farmers and agricultural producers

participated in a series of focus groups

to test survey questionnaires designed

to gather information on the CoP of

cereals, milk and olives. Workshops

facilitated by a newly established CoP

Commission (set up by the Tunisia

Ministry of Agriculture) brought

together stakeholders from national

statistical and policy units, research

and professional associations –

specifically to discuss piloting an

innovative approach to determine CoP

and to seek ways to build national

statistical capacities. A mutually

beneficial collaboration between FAO

and Tunisia allowed questionnaire

design and testing of the methods to

benefit from best practices contained

in the Global Strategy Handbook for

CoP. Meanwhile, lessons learned

from this case study, including the

impact of a participatory approach on

enhancement of national agricultural

statistics, were fed back into the GS

manual and shared with regional

experts.

3. Cost of productionMaximizing profits, savings and food security through better data on farmers’ costsData on the cost of agricultural production is not only crucial for policy-making, it also helps farmers assess their own farm operations. With accurate information on what farmers pay to produce food, governments can craft policies that help farmers increase their productivity while lowering costs. This enables the farmers themselves to compare their farm operations against others and identify opportunities to improve their farm management practices. This results in increased profits for farmers, lower prices for consumers and increased food security. To this end, the Global Strategy has developed guidelines on Agricultural Cost of Production in agriculture and made them available on its Website.

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Global Strategy works with AMIS To share research on value chain issues and yield forecasting

THE GLOBAL STRATEGY delivers its ambitious research

programme in partnership with various stakeholders.

This includes establishing synergies with related

research streams, and collaborating on developing and

implementing work programmes to make best use of

available resources. For example, research conducted

by the Agricultural Marketing Information System (AMIS)

initiative has proven complementary to the work of the

Global Strategy, e.g.:

• AMIS research on stocks measurement

benefits from the progress made in assessing

and monitoring value chains in the context of

the GS agenda on post-harvest losses

• AMIS research on yield forecasting benefits

and complements the Global Strategy’s work

on crop forecasting.

The project “Strengthening

AMIS globally and in

selected countries using

innovative methods and

digital technology” under-

way in India, Nigeria and

Bangladesh, funded by the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to

improve food market transparency and encourage

coordination of policy action in response to

market uncertainty. The project, designed in the

context of the  AMIS initiative and established

at the request of the G20 agriculture ministers,

contributes to the Global Strategy research

theme for improving methodology for market

statistics.

Agricultural Integrated Survey (AGRIS) To improve quality of on-farm data collection

THE GLOBAL STRATEGY initiated development of an

Agricultural Integrated Survey (AGRIS) methodology

in response to the request advanced by many

national agencies in developing countries for support

in improving the quality of their on-farm data

collection. AGRIS is a farm-based modular multi-year

survey programme, designed as a cost-effective tool

to accelerate the production of quality disaggregated

data on the technical, economic, environmental

and social dimensions of agricultural holdings. The

data AGRIS generates will inform policy design and

implementation, as well as improve market efficiency

and support research.

AGRIS relies on sound statistical methodologies,

including innovations introduced by the Global

Strategy. It also complements and scales up other

relevant global initiatives such as the World Bank

Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated

Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) and USAID Core

Agricultural and Rural Data Surveys (CARDS). AGRIS

will be rolled out by the end of 2015.

Agricultural Market Information SystemAMIS

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Global Strategy publications Supporting countries through sharing information

To support the ability of countries to establish more independent and sustainable statistics, the Global Strategy has prepared a host of guidelines and methodological materials and made them available on its Website. Users can access handbooks and guidelines, technical reports on research topics, working papers that share work in progress, country papers that present good practices, and training material as they become available. Important publications are also offered in hard copy. The following list contains only a few examples of our work.

Data collectionResearch to find cost-effective ways for countries to collect accurate information is being carried out in many areas. The Global Strategy has developed guidelines on Fisheries and Aquaculture, Classifications, Access to Microdata; Cost of Production; and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. It also has produced working papers on a great number of topics such as livestock products and post-harvest losses.

Conceptual frameworkData users need a conceptual framework that connects agriculture to its economic, social and environmental dimensions. The Global Strategy has developed guidelines on the System of Environmental Economic Accounting for Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (SEEA AFF), on Integrated Survey Framework and on the Master Sampling Frame.

Remote sensing dataData from remote sensing is increasingly available and users need guidance on its best use in agriculture statistics. Thus, the Global Strategy is producing handbooks that consolidate results of reports on several topics.

Agricultural censusAn eLearning course on Linking Population and Housing Censuses with Agricultural Censuses for implementing a cost-effective census strategy is now available online.

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Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions in AgricultureA Manual to Address Data Requirements for Developing Countries

www.gsars.org/category/publications/

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Assisting countries in planning their future agricultural statistical systems

Strategic Plans for Agricultural and Rural Statistics (SPARS): a strategic planning approach developed by the Global Strategy that supports development of a long-term vision for national agricultural statistical systems.

The Global Strategy assists countries in preparing SPARS, with the assistance of its regional implementing partners (AfDB and FAORAP). In addition to providing a basis for establishing strengths and priorities, SPARS help countries identify data needs, critical gaps, deficiencies, duplications and inconsistencies. This collectively paves

the way for robust production and use of agricultural and rural statistics.

Known as a policy and results-based instrument, SPARS provide a framework for coordinating national agricultural statistical systems and for improving the coherence of external assistance. In all cases, SPARS are:• nationally led and nationally owned• demand-focused, responding to the needs and priorities fixed by the governments• aligned with national development policies including national development and agricultural investment plans• embedded into national policies with priority funding through government budgets.

CAADP, a unique opportunity for African countries to invest in a better availability of agricultural statisticsThe African Union’s Comprehensive Agricultural African

Development Programme (CAADP) helps countries reach a

higher path of economic growth through agriculture-led

development and in turn, eliminate hunger and reduce

poverty by increasing public investment in agriculture and

raising agricultural productivity. The Global Strategy works

closely with CAADP partners to ensure that statistical

development will be incorporated appropriately into the

National Agricultural and Food Security Investment Plans

(NAFSIP) for providing the necessary evidence and ensuring

that funds can be made available for sustaining the national

agricultural statistical systems.

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The Global Strategy works with countries to initiate SPARS

Burundi and Cabo VerdeSPARS process aligns with national agricultural policiesThe governments of Burundi and Cabo Verde have both

developed SPARS, with Burundi setting up a 5-year strategy

(2015–2019) and Cabo Verde a 7-year strategy (2015–2021).

In both cases, the SPARS align with national agricultural

policies, in particular the CAADP national investment plans.

The plans call for coordination, capacity building, data

collection, dissemination and analysis, communication, and

monitoring and evaluation, all under a financing strategy

that will require some USD 11 million to implement in each

country.

BangladeshSPARS assessment underlies new strategic plan for agricultural surveysIn order to support the country’s need for improving its

statistical capacity, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the

Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders undertook

the first step of the SPARS process – an in-depth country

assessment. The assessment found a reasonable availability

of statistical information and relatively strong institutional

infrastructure, but weaknesses in ability to analyse and

use data, duplication in crop production estimates, limited

market information systems, and limited statistics on land

use, irrigation, fisheries, livestock and poultry. With this

information, Bangladesh was able to begin setting priority

areas and identify technical assistance needs. Thus, as a

first step to address these needs, Bangladesh is working

with AMIS’ support to improve market statistics and build

further national capacity.

The Global Strategy’s “Guidelines for Implementing SPARS” is an extremely important tool, which has allowed Cabo Verde to develop its strategic plan 2015-2021 for the development of agricultural statistics, food security and rural development, essential for decision making, designing sector policies and also monitoring and evaluating their implementation.

Eva Verona ORTET, Minister,

Ministry of Rural Development, Cabo Verde

“”

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Supporting development of the next generation of agricultural statisticiansThroughout the developing world, agriculture statistical units lack well-trained personnel. Recognizing this, human resources training plays a major role in the work of the Global Strategy, cutting across thematic areas and levels of expertise, and ranging from advanced training on new statistical methods to basic training on agriculture statistics. The Global Strategy training courses, adapted according to the needs and skill levels of the participants, have the overriding goal of increasing the statistical capacity of personnel and, in turn, increasing national capacity to develop sample frames and questionnaires, conduct surveys, and analyse and disseminate data.

Courses and NetworksHarmonizing statistical expertise across Africa through courses and networks

The United Nations Economic Commission

for Africa (UNECA), the Global Strategy’s

implementing partner for training in

Africa, harmonizes statistical educational

programmes in regional statistical training

centres so that graduates will have skills,

knowledge and statistical competence

that are comparable across countries. In

addition to helping the training centres

improve their educational programmes

and infrastructure, 33 young statisticians

have received scholarships and are

being trained in Africa’s six regional

training centres. Furthermore, UNECA

is developing a 9-month specialized

programme in agricultural statistics for

university-trained statisticians without

specialization in agricultural statistics.

The Statistical Institute for Asia and the

Pacific (SIAP) has created a subregional

network of statistical training centres on

agriculture statistics to share training

material and resources. SIAP delivers

regionally focused specialized short

trainings and workshops covering

e.g. Sampling methods for agricultural

statistics and Increasing effective use of

agricultural and rural statistics.

This training allowed me to strengthen my statistical skills to specialize in agriculture. Now I can help my country make more science-based decisions when designing agricultural policies that will support the sector and its development at the local level.

Aboubacar Nais Oihab, Economic-statistics student,

ENSEA, Abidjan

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Institutional partnershipsThe catalytic role of the Global Strategy

Despite being the most concerted effort of the last 50 years to build agricultural statistical capacity, the Global Strategy is not unique. Many of its development partners have previously invested in this field, thus enabling the Global Strategy to build on existing initiatives.

As an international benchmark for agricultural and rural statistics, the Global Strategy plays a catalytic role in increasing stakeholders’ contributions to the overall objectives of the Global Strategy worldwide. For example, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Commission all provide resources for activities, which contribute to the objectives of the Global Strategy.

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The way forwardWhat are the next steps?The Global Strategy does not offer ongoing funding for data collection activities. This will require additional advocacy efforts and calls for stakeholders to collectively identify new funding modalities that will ensure national agricultural statistical systems will be funded in a sustainable way.

While the goal of Phase 1 of the Global Strategy (2012–2017) is to support countries in acquiring skills, a critical mass of trained statisticians, and cost-effective statistical methods ready to be used, the next phase of the Global Strategy implementation will focus on helping countries adopt those cost-effective statistical methods. This means, for example, ensuring that countries have the necessary statistical infrastructure to implement integrated surveys such as AGRIS and can establish the appropriate mechanisms for funding the development of national agricultural statistical systems.

Statistics Division (ESS)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy

www.gsars.org

The Global Strategy is funded through an innovative mechanism specifically created for this purpose - a

Global Trust Fund managed by FAO and currently sponsored by the UK’s Department for International

Development (DFID), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Italian Cooperation.

Cover photo: © FAO/Daniel Hayduk; page 2, left: © World Bank/Maria Fleischmann; page 4, top left: © FAO/Alipio Canahua; page 5, top right: © Norah de Falco, bottom: © FAO/Roberto Faidutti; page 6 and 7: © FAO/Daniel Hayduk; page 8, top left: © Joel Bombardier, bottom right: © Leslie Lai; page 10, left: © Imke Stahlmann; page 11: © Min Qingwen; page 12, left: © Yessenia C Palma Pineda, right: © Leslie Lai; page 13: © FAO/Farooq Naeem; page 14, top: © Daniele Olivotti, bottom left: © Leslie Lai; page 15, top right: © Min Qingwen, bottom: © FAO/Giulio Napolitano

JUNE 2015