Coalition for Africa Rice Development member states vouch for reliable statistics on rice production
19 January 2015, Kampala – Uganda – Member countries of the Coalition for Africa Rice Development (CARD) launched a new project aimed at improving capacity of these countries for timely collection and provision of reliable statistics on rice.
The Project - “Strengthening Agricultural Statistics and Food Security Information in CARD Countries through South-South Cooperation” focuses on improving capacity of CARD member states to collect and provide reliable and timely statistics on rice in terms of planted areas and yield with a broader view of reducing poverty and increasing food security through more effective evidence based agriculture.
While launching the Project, Ms Beatrice Byarugaba, Commissioner for Crop Production and Marketing, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, said that the project is timely and will address the agricultural statistics gap in Uganda.
“Agriculture statistics in Uganda have been a big challenge. However, the government has taken fundamental steps to address this. Any supplementary effort will be a good step in the right direction,” the Commissioner stated.
FAO Uganda Deputy Country Representative, Massimo Castiello, in his opening remarks, said that reliable statistical data is indispensable for the effective monitoring of the progress of CARD initiative, whose aim is boosting rice production through improving productivity, market efficiency and viable partnerships along the rice value chain.
The new programme is under FAO South-South Cooperation, which plays a critical role in facilitating exchanges and connecting countries and institutions that have proven development solutions to share with countries in need of such solutions.
“The South-South Cooperation has been organized in various fields, but this is the first challenge in the field of agricultural statistics. Although there will be a lot of difficulties, I believe Project member countries, experts from the Association of South‐East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Project partners will collaborate to break new ground,” Mr Castiello said, pledging FAO support of the project activities.
The project statistical methods will also be pre-tested in Uganda to identify appropriate methods for CARD members before rolling it out to the other countries the project is covering. These include Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda.
About the project
The Project “Strengthening Agricultural Statistics and Food Security Information in CARD Countries through South-South Cooperation” (GCP/INT/161/JPN) is a result of Japan’s political commitment for the TICAD IV (4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, 2008) to contribute to the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), which is aiming at doubling rice production in ten years - up to 2018, in terms of creation of accurate statistics to evaluate CARD’s progress.
The total budget of the project is USD 2 500 000 and the duration will be from 2013 to 2018. The Uganda component will beimplemented by FAO in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
Contact:
Agatha Ayebazibwe | Communications Officer | FAO Uganda | Email: [email protected] | Mobile: +256 779442502