From the field

Agriculture remains the backbone of Rwanda’s Economy and the foundation of rural livelihoods. As the country is on the trajectory towards the vision 2050 ambition of becoming a high-income and climate-resilient nation, the sector continues to play a central role in food and nutrition security, employment, and broad-based social-economic development.

Papua New Guinea has reached a significant milestone in improving forest data transparency and governance with the publication of its national forest inventory (NFI) in the Food and Agriculture Microdata (...

In an exclusive AgroSpectrum interview, Jairo Castano of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations explains how the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2030 will modernize agricultural censuses, strengthen data-driven policymaking, and support progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Quality statistics are key to informing decisions, policies and investments that address issues such as food security, malnutrition as well as sustainable and resilient agrifood systems. FAO, as part of its core mandate, is committed to collecting, analysing, interpreting and disseminating these statistics. 

Measuring and monitoring SDG 12.3.1.a, the Food Loss Index, is complex and requires multiple measurement efforts to cover key food groups and stages along the agrifood chain. In this context, Mexico stands out as a regional reference by implementing a pilot exercise that approximates the calculation of this indicator using available information.

In preparation for Tuvalu’s first National Crops and Livestock Census, FAO is providing technical and methodological supports in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources Development, Central Statistics Division and the Pacific Community (SPC). Today, a training is kick-started to equip field staff with the knowledge, skills and tools to collect accurate and high-quality census data.

In a landmark achievement for agricultural innovation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has clinched the coveted ICT Innovator of the Year Award 2nd runner up at the 2025 Zimbabwe ICT Excellence Awards. The recognition honours FAO’s groundbreaking initiative, Earth Observation for Agricultural Statistics (EOSTAT), which is revolutionizing crop monitoring systems and strengthening national capacity for data-driven agrifood systems transformation.

In this interview, FAO Chief Statistician and Director of Statistics Division, Mr José Rosero Moncayo, talks about the key expectations arising from the work of the 29th Commission for Agricultural Statistics. He explains that understanding the impact of a lack of statistics is crucial for formulating agricultural policies, and provides details on the important '50x2030 Initiative'.

Blog by Maksat Turlubaev – Head of the Bureau of National statistics, Agency for Strategic planning and reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan 

Cambodia Embraces Digital Farming to Boost Sustainability and Resilience

Blog by Andrew Johnny, Statistician General, Statistics Sierra Leone

Zimbabwe has taken a major stride in modernizing its agricultural statistics systems through the integration of Earth Observation (EO) technologies. This week, the country is hosting a training workshop organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), bringing together national experts for a hands-on training aimed at enhancing the country’s capacity to generate timely, accurate, and reliable crop type, crop acreage and crop yield statistics.

Blog by Michael Rahija, Regional Statistician, FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

 

Thailand has taken a significant step toward enhancing forest data transparency by publishing data on their national forest inventory (NFI) in the Food and Agriculture Microdata (FAM) Catalogue, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This achievement highlights Thailand’s commitment to sustainable forest management, climate action and international cooperation.

Enumerators gather a wide range of statistics, supporting policy makers in making decisions to help agriculture better meet people’s nutritional and livelihood needs.

The 50x2030 Initiative to Close the Agricultural Data Gap aims to support agricultural data collection, processing, and dissemination efforts of National Statistical Offices and Ministries of Agriculture. The Initiative responds to the demand for more and higher quality agricultural data, in view...

Agriculture is a cornerstone of Viet Nam’s economy, employing tens of millions, contributing significantly to the national GDP, and ensuring food security and rural livelihoods. However, traditional farming practices and limited access to real-time data, constrain productivity, climate resilience, and resource efficiency. As digital technologies reshape global agrifood systems, Viet Nam stands at a critical juncture to leverage data-driven decision-making to enhance its agricultural sector. 

Cambodia accelerated the digital transformation of its agricultural sector through a high-level workshop and training in Phnom Penh, where policymakers, experts and development partners showcased AI, satellite data and digital systems to modernize farming, enhance climate resilience and drive sustainable, data-driven growth.

FAO won the SDG Custodian Agency Prize at the seventh annual GEO SDG Awards, which recognizes the productivity, innovation, novelty and exemplary efforts in the use of Earth observations to support sustainable development.

Forests across Asia and the Pacific region cover 740 million hectares, accounting for 18 percent of global forest cover. These forests are not only critical for the livelihoods of more than 450 million people, but also play a critical economic role, with annual trade in primary forest products surpassing USD 90 billion.