Workshop on the implementation of CountrySTAT in ECO countries

25/06/2015

The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will organize a two-day Workshop on Stocktaking and Lesson Learnt from the Implementation of CountrySTAT in the ECO Countries. The event will take place from 25 to 26 June 2015, in the FAO Headquarter, in Rome, Italy.

CountrySTAT is a web-based information system on food and agriculture which provides easy access to statistical data of good quality that can aid decision-makers in better, evidencebased policy-making and greater efficiency in development politics. Nationally owned and maintained, it serves as a one stop centre that enables the collection and harmonization of timely and reliable official data from different sources and their integration in a common location. Data provided through CountrySTAT serves researchers, policymakers, development organizations, and the private sector to design and implement better policy and investments in agriculture.

The workshop will focus on the achievements and project outcomes.

It will also provide an excellent opportunity for members of ECO to work together and to further promote the use of CountySTAT at regional and national levels.

Welcome remarks will be done by Mr Laurent Thomas, Assistant Director-General, Technical Cooperation and Mr Pietro Gennari, Director of the FAO Statistics Division, Economic and Social Department. In particular, the workshop will:

Demonstrate to national and international partners the outcomes of the project

Present the New CountrySTAT and its capabilities with concrete use-cases

Propose a course of action for strengthening the CountrySTAT activities in the ECO region and continuing to provide support to Afghanistan.

The workshop is also expected to provide a platform for the participants to assess the current situation, identify possible gaps and future needs, and to make recommendations to further promote the use and visibility of CountySTAT system for official data related to food and agriculture, at regional and national levels.

The latest report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme.

(WFP) on the state of the food insecurity in the World reported that about 805 million people were undernourished during the 2012-2014 period, 11.3% of the world population.

The overwhelming majority of them live in developing countries, where it is now estimated that 13.5% of the population are affected by malnutrition.

CountrySTAT is the right tool available to policy makers, development partners and other users in the fight against hunger and poverty. Therefore, CountrySTAT facilitates planning and decision-making based on facts, in order to accelerate the process of reducing hunger and malnutrition.