The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (CSA) find it appropriate to jointly issue this statement on the Development of Statistics in Africa, and in general on the occasion of the 22nd Session of African Commission on Agricultural Statistics (AFCAS), which is being held in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia from 30th November 2011 to 3rd December 2011.

The quest for good governance and general improvement in the level of wellbeing of our people require quality official data to support evidence-based and efficient policy formulation, implementation, and decision making at all levels and aspects of human endeavour.

Agriculture is the backbone of the African countries economy, accounting for a larger share of GDP, providing employment opportunities and exports, for most countries. Therefore, in order to ensure sustainable economic growth in Africa, countries should make the necessary effort to acquire and maintain sound agricultural development strategies and policies that are based on a reliable and timely agricultural statistics.