20th Session of the African Commission on
Agricultural Statistics
Algiers, Algeria, 10 - 13 DECEMBER
2007
Introduction
• Since the last AFCAS session held in October 2005 in
Maputo, Mozambique, FAO has continued to work closely
with Member States in Africa to strengthen their capacity to
collect, analyse, disseminate and use statistical data on
food, agriculture and rural sector.
• The main actors and activities: Statistics Division for
Agricultural Statistics, Fishery Department for fishery
statistics, Forestry Department for forestry statistics and
Regional Office for Africa with input from several officers.
• What has been done and implemented vis-a-vis the
recommendations of the last AFCAS Session?
Activities completed by the Statistics
Division
• The Country Statistics Service (ESSS): Two
groups (the National Statistics Systems
Group -including CountrySTAT-, and the
Census and Survey Programmes Group)
inter-act closely. The Service has been
working jointly with the Regional Statisticians
to respond to needs expressed by countries
• The Global Statistics Service (ESSG): It
comprises two groups: the Basic Statistics
Group and Food Security Indicators Group.
Most recent activities related to field
programme and implemented by ESSS
• Formulation of agricultural statistics and census projects: Cameroon,
Senegal, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, Mauritania, Eritrea, Sao Tome,
Angola, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, etc.;
• Preparation or implementation of agricultural censuses: Comoros, Mali,
Chad, Madagascar, Niger, United Republic of Tanzania, Burkina Faso,
Benin, etc.;
• On-going systems of agricultural statistics and institutional
strengthening: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Seychelles, Kenya, Senegal, Cote
d’Ivoire, Tunisia, (technical supervisory services of statistics component
of WB funded agricultural sector support project), etc.
• Agricultural statistics for food security and early warning information
systems: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Malawi, etc.;
• Regional Projects: UEMOA Regional Agricultural Information System
project.
The Initiative for Strengthening Food and
Agricultural Statistics in Africa
• Implementation of complementary regional projects
funded by the World Bank, France and Italy
• Several capacity building and pilot country activities have
been implemented under the interim phase (particularly
in Kenya, Senegal, Mali, UEMOA)
• The projects have been designed as the first stage in a
longer-term process that should help to mobilize
substantial resources to improve food and agricultural
statistics throughout Africa.
• The overall goal of these projects is to reduce rural
poverty and food insecurity in Africa through the
promotion of more effective policies, programme and
other investments.
ESSS Methodological development
• Study on the use of GPS for crop area measurement.
• Development (in partnership with the World Bank and PARIS21) of a Toolkit
for monitoring and evaluation of Agriculture and Rural Development
Programmes and conduct of pilot country studies for testing the toolkit and
indicators.
• Participation to the preparation of a joint publication of the Inter-Secretariat
Working Group on Agriculture and Rural Development Indicators.
• The World Census of Agriculture 2010 (WCA 2010) was prepared in 2005 to
cover the decade of census taking 2006-2015. It has been also translated in
French and Spanish.
• Preparation of an Advocacy video on Agricultural Statistics in partnership
with PARIS21.
• Development of conceptual framework on Statistical Classification.
• Preparation of technical handbook on linking population and agriculture
census, community level statistics (Africa Region) in the framework of
agriculture census as supplements to the WCA 2010.
• Considerable work has been carried out with the UN Statistics Division and
the UNECE to ensure the that same message (on the relationship between
the Population and Housing Census and the Agricultural Census) is provided
to member countries by FAO and these UN bodies in the various
publications on this subject.
Development/implementation of CountrySTAT
• Pilot CountrySTAT Projects: Kenya, Ghana.
• Current CountrySTATs Projects: Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Sudan, Somalia,
Tanzania and Togo.
• Current Regional Organizations in Africa: «Union
Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA)»,
Arab Organization for Agricultural Development
(AOAD).
• Proposal for a CountrySTAT for Sub-Saharan Africa
Project
Capacity Building (Workshops, Seminars,
Training Sessions)
• Several training sessions on CountrySTAT have been organized
and conducted in FAO-HQ and on site for countries where
related projects were or are being implemented: Workshop on
Country STAT and Metadata, (December 2006, Cairo-Egypt,), etc.
• A Joint FAO/AFRISTAT Round table meeting on the new FAO
World Programme for Census of Agriculture 2010 (March 2006,
Bamako-Mali) has been organized for French speaking
countries. The same kind of round table will be organized for
English speaking countries in the near future.
• A technical workshop on the integration and access to
agricultural statistics for better formulation and monitoring
(December 2007, Algiers-Algeria).
Other ESSS/RAF activities
• Data on Government Expenditures on agriculture
collected from African countries for monitoring the
commitment to invest 10% of budgets in
Agriculture.
• The questionnaires on the State of Agricultural
Statistical Systems in Africa have been sent again
to countries.
Activities undertaken by the ESSG
• The Basic Statistics Group has continued to
provide Advisory Technical Services (ATS)
input to countries (through TCP Project) on
SUA/FBS, in respect to what has been
recommended in Maputo. The latest one has
been provided to Senegal in 2006.
• The Food Security Indicators Group has
implemented activities for strengthening the
national statistical capacity of national
statistics offices and national users in
compilation of food security indicators.
Activities undertaken in the field of sexdisaggregated data by RAF
• RAF continued to provide technical and financial support to
African Member Countries for enhanced collection, analysis,
dissemination and use of sex-disaggregated data reflecting
gender relations prevailing in the agricultural sector .
• The Organisation supported the production of the first thematic
census reports entitled Gender profile of the agricultural sector,
prepared with statistical data collected by censuses undertaken
during the 2000 Round of the World Census of Agriculture.
• The Organisation started developing an electronic tool kit
containing examples of relevant questions used in the various
census programmes implemented in Africa during the past
round and the table formats that facilitate the analysis and
dissemination of data obtained.
• FAO supports the Economic Commission for Africa to integrate
sex-disaggregated agricultural data into the African Gender and
Development Index being developed by the latter Institution.
Activities related to Fisheries Statistics in Africa
• The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Information and Statistics
Service (FIES) has continued to compile, process and
disseminate the FAO global databases on fishery statistics with
close collaboration with members. In addition, specifically for
Africa, FIES regularly updates two regional databases on
capture production corresponding to the FAO Fishing Areas.
• The FAO Strategy for Improving Information on Status and
Trends of capture Fisheries (STF) has been presented and
discussed at the seventeenth session of CECAF (Fishery
Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic) in 2004. In October
2006 Activities of the FishCode-STF project proposed for West
Africa were discussed and approved at the 18th session of
CECAF.
• FAO-FIES has also contributed to TCP Project: TCP/RAF/3102.
The aim is to establish a cost-effective data collection system
based on sampling methods for estimating aquaculture
production, and to link this to detailed socio-economic variables
to develop models for estimating potential viability of
aquaculture ventures in the region.
Recent Publications
• FAO Statistical Yearbook 2005/2006, Vol. 2/1 and Vol.
2/2.
• World Programme of Census of Agriculture 2010.
• FAO Yearbooks on Fishery statistics 2004 and 2005
(Capture production, Aquaculture production,
Commodities) and the State of World Fisheries and
Aquaculture 2006.
Main recommendations from the 19th AFCAS
Session and their status of implementation
RECOMMENDATIONS
STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION
1. The Commission has recommended that countries Number of responses has passed from 31 to
which has provided replies to the 2005 AFCAS
35 countries. For the 2007 AFCAS
questionnaire made a detailed review of the country
questionnaire, the focal points have been
profiles which summarises the replies and provide
used.
corrections as required so that a reliable database
may be prepared. Other countries take necessary
actions to reply to the questionnaire by end of
November 2005. Country representatives present at
this Session be considered as focal points for filling
the questionnaire and returning it to FAO.
2. The Commission has urged FAO to continue to support After Kenya, Senegal has been assisted: the
African countries in compilation of FBS taking into
SUA/FBS is operational. CILSS is also
accounts the experience and lessons learnt from other
contributing to this activity in his region.
country.
3. The commission has urged FAO to work on FAO has contributed significantly to the
international classification related to agricultural
revision of international classifications
statistics in close collaboration with other regional
(CPC, etc.).
and internal institutions.
Main recommendations from the 19th AFCAS Session
and their status of implementation (Con’t)
RECOMMENDATIONS
STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION
4. The Commission has urged FAO to provide
advanced training on CountrySTAT to enable the
CBS officers to train others. The Commission has
also called on FAO to explore ways of sponsoring
the officers implementing the projects for exchange
and training program.
Several
training
sessions
on
CountrySTAT have been organized and
conducted in FAO-HQ and on site for
countries where related projects were or
are being implemented: Workshop on
Country STAT and Metadata.
5. - The Commission has recommended that
countries develop strategies to make an effective
linkage between population census and agricultural
census without prejudice to the success of the
population census.
- It has also recommended that FAO organizes
training sessions to explain WCA 2010 for the
benefits of statisticians in developing countries.
Complementary
guidelines
on
“Agricultural module of Population
Census and Community level data”
have been provided by FAO.
- A Joint FAO/AFRISTAT Round table
meeting on the new FAO World
Programme for Census of Agriculture
2010 (March 2006, Bamako-Mali) has
been organized for French speaking
countries. The same kind of round table
will be organized for English speaking
countries in the near future.
Main recommendations from the 19th AFCAS Session
and their status of implementation (Con’t)
RECOMMENDATIONS
STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION
6. - The Commission has recommended that Member
Countries intensify user-producers dialogues to facilitate
the emergence of a common understanding among data
producers and users on the importance of producing
gender-disaggregated agricultural statistics.
- It has called on FAO to ensure that the experience gained
in Africa during the 2000 WCA in the production of subhousehold level gender disaggregated agricultural data be
build on and expanded during the WCA2010, through the
systematic application of Theme 12, Management of the
holding in all sample census.
- It has requested that Member Countries and FAO alike
endeavour to fine-tune new complex gender sensitive
concepts like sub-holder and sub-holding, document
experiences with their application and provide additional
guidelines on how to adapt them to country specific
circumstances.
- It has urged FAO to step up its efforts to build the
capacity of data producers and especially data users on the
production and use of gender disaggregated agricultural
statistical data.
- FAO has supported the production of the
first thematic census reports entitled Gender
profile of the agricultural sector, prepared
with statistical data collected by censuses
undertaken during the 2000 Round of the
World Census of Agriculture.
- FAO has started developing an electronic
tool kit containing examples of relevant
questions used in the various census
programmes implemented in Africa during
the past round and the table formats that
facilitate the analysis and dissemination of
data obtained.
- FAO has recently re-engaged with relevant
stakeholders in Senegal to expand their
experience in collecting such data and is on
stand-by for other Member Countries
preparing their census under the WCA2010.
(Notably Benin, Burkina Faso, Mozambique
and Tanzania).
Main recommendations from the 19th AFCAS Session
and their status of implementation (Con’t)
RECOMMENDATIONS
STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION
7. The Commission has requested that the AGDI (Africain This subject is on the agenda of this 20th
Gender and Development Index) be made available to all AFCAS Session. Progress made by ECA will
Member Countries, allowing them to appropriate the tool be presented and discussed.
and contribute to its enrichment.
- It has recommended that the agricultural component of
the AGDI be strengthened, making use of available gender
disaggregated agricultural data, in close collaboration with
Member Countries.
- It has called on ECA to share with the Commission the
results of the AGDI field studies in the 12 pilot countries
where the AGDI is tested.
- It has recommended greater collaboration and
coordination between ECA and the FAO on the
development of gender specific statistical tools and
indicators on agriculture
8. - The Commission has recommended that Member A subject on fishery statistics is on the agenda
Countries share experiences on fishery data collection at of this 20th AFCAS Session. Progress made
the different levels of the WCA 2010.
will be presented and discussed.
- It has urged FAO to support countries in such data
collection in view of their planning efforts for attaining
improved food security and poverty reduction.
Thank you for your kind attention