Liberia has completed the cardinal pillar of the second phase of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics (GSARS-II), aimed at integrating agriculture into the National Statistical System, to ensure national data coherence and data comparability between countries.
Liberia successfully concluded the development of what is now being referred to as the first road map for Liberia’s Strategic Plan for Agricultural and Rural Statistics, L-SPARS, aimed at improving data collection for national decision making in the agriculture sector, as well as in rural development.
The government ministry and agencies responsible for agricultural and rural data collection and management in Liberia validated the Road Map of the L-SPARS recently, at the Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture in Gardnersville.
They include the Ministry of Agriculture, MoA, Central Agriculture Research Institute, CARI, Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo Information Services, LISGIS, Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority, LACRA, National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, NaFAA, Forestry Development Authority, FDA, and Cooperative Development Agency, CDA.
A Technical Working Group (TWG), comprising the Liberian Government ministry and agencies named above, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), developed the Road Map during a technical training that Maria Fortes, an FAO expert from Washington DC, the United States of America, facilitated.
Liberia-SPARS focal person at the Ministry of Agriculture, Aagon Yoko, speaking at the close of the technical training, described the FAO intervention as critical to overcoming the data gap Liberia experiences when making crucial national development decisions in the agricultural sector.
Mr. Yoko added that the current phase has developed the Road Map and the next phase will assess the National Agricultural Statistical System, followed by the planning phase, which will develop a National Plan of Action to implement the L-SPARS. He said development partners’ support will be seriously required during the implementation stage of the Strategic Plan.
Speaking for the FAO Representation in Liberia, Emmanuel Kapee, FAO’s National Policy Coordinator and Partnership Specialist, said the development of the SPARS road map was happening at the right time in the country. “I say so because the development of this strategic document is going on at the time when the government, in collaboration with other partners, that is FAO, IFAD, and the World Bank, are already working together to see how a national agriculture census can be conducted in Liberia, and hopefully, we are looking up to November of this year, holding all factors constant.”
Kapee disclosed that the road map would be a dramatic game changer, noting that no matter what event they attended in the agriculture sector, the issue of data and data gap was always flagged, reemphasizing the importance of data in programming and informing critical policy decisions.
Kapee urged the participants to take a serious note of the word rural, because most of the actors in the agriculture sector are the smallholder farmers, who are basically found in rural communities. FAO, he added, remains committed to working with and supporting the Government of Liberia in achieving its development goals.
“The need for data in Liberia cannot be overemphasized. As we work in the sector, we see lots of gaps for planning and decision making. The only way we can thrive in our development agenda is when we have evidence to be able to make sound decisions, empirical evidence that will help us transform the sector, and not only the sector but also the country as a whole,” remarked Emmanuel Anderson, Research Assessment and Monitoring Officer at the World Food Program Office in Liberia.
Rural statistics, Mr. Anderson stressed, is very important but has been lacking in Liberia to guide critical decision making. He expressed the hope that if developed, the SPARS will not be left on the shelf, but will be referenced when planning, making decisions about development and discussing moving the agriculture sector forward. “I think this is quite critical. It is important for all stakeholders take this very seriously and as we carve out this strategy or this road map, that we use it. Let it be a working document and let it be live.”
For his part, Dr. Eementary Kpoeh, Acting Deputy Director for Statistics at the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo Information Services, LISGIS, described the issue of data gap as a grave concern, adding that in order to bridge the gap, LISGIS must work with the relevant stakeholders in all of the sectors, and one of the sectors is the Agriculture sector, because it is the issue of food.
“When you go to bed hungry, you know what it means. LISGIS will always work along with the MOA and all other relevant stakeholders to ensure that data gaps are bridged in this sector and that Liberia can become self-reliant in food production.”
The participants thanked FAO for responding to Liberia’s request to facilitate the Technical Training on the second phase of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics (GSARS-II). They appealed to FAO and all relevant stakeholders, including the Government of Liberia, to ensure that the next phases will cover assessment of the National Agricultural Statistical System and development of a National Plan of Action.
FAO facilitated the Technical Training that led to the development of road map, in response to Liberia’s request for assistance to improve agricultural and rural statistics.
