In this interview, FAO Chief Statistician and Director of the Statistics Division, Mr. José Rosero Moncayo, talks about the key expectations arising from the work of the 29th African Commission on 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'.

1-      What are your expectations at the end of the 29th Agricultural Statistics Commission for Africa?

My expectations are threefold. First, I expect Member Countries to leave the meeting with specific knowledge of the latest innovations, standards and practices in food and agriculture statistics, while, at the same time, to be able to contribute to the technical aspects of the discussions. The Commission will cover a broad number of themes that go from food security to fisheries statistics, from censuses to surveys, from forestry to agrifood systems. Second, it is expected that Member Countries observe what other countries in the continent have done to improve their statistics either with the support of FAO, other regional organizations, or by their own initiatives. The latter is one of the most important objectives of the Commission, to share knowledge and practices to encourage others to adapt their systems to better and latest practices. Third, I expect Member Countries to transmit to FAO their needs and priorities in terms of a) capacity development, and b) filling data gaps that could influence both, the technical assistance and the methodological agenda of FAO. In this way, the Commission is an important mechanism to steer the statistical work of the Organization.

2-      Can you provide an explanation of the detrimental effect of the lack of agricultural statistics on the agricultural sector?

I cannot emphasize more the importance that good quality, accurate, relevant data have to guide effective and efficient policy making. Data have the power to influence every part of the policy cycle from the design of policies, to the implementation, monitoring, and impact evaluation. In this sense, data is a strategic public good that can make the difference between poverty and prosperity, between stagnation and growth. An important aspect to mention is that data is not an expenditure it is an investment with high returns. It has been estimated that for every dollar invested in data systems there is an average return of US$32.

In agricultural statistics, the availability of data gives governments and the international community at large the inputs that are needed to design policies and prepare investments to improve agricultural productivity, reduce emissions and pollution, generate jobs, make healthy diets available, eradicate food insecurity and promote optimal nutrition and health outcomes. For example, a Ministry of Agriculture without a good system of agricultural surveys to estimate the total production and total land used for wheat, or rice, or maize, will not have the inputs to design good extension services, or to plan investments in irrigation of the land. Now, despite the importance of data, the reality is that not enough resources are directed to the collection and dissemination of data.  In Africa, about 50% of the countries do not have the basic information to report on agricultural production of different products to inform national and global processes. This situation ultimately jeopardizes the generation of evidence-based policies and calls for more and better investment in data.

3-      In your opening remarks, you described the '50x2030 Initiative' as 'the most ambitious programme ever implemented on a global scale'. Could a brief description be given of what makes it so special?

Considering the data gaps previously mentioned, in particular in Africa, there is the need of a global effort to support countries in need to produce the fundamental data that is required to generate virtuous cycles of evidence based policy making. This is, in essence, the 50x2030 Initiative. It is the most ambitious programme ever implemented as a) it aims to provide support to a large amount of low and lower middle income countries (50 countries) which is a scale that has not been attempted before in a reduced timeframe (10 years), b) it does it by standardizing how agricultural surveys are collected around the world, using an international standard, harmonized concepts and classifications that are used to collect the information and, c) it uses innovative methods of data collection applying the latest technological innovations for that purpose, such as tablets and GPS devices to improve the quality and accuracy of the data being collected. This is an effort that is only possible by the commitment of a constellation of organizations and donors participating in the Initiative and providing either the technical expertise or the funds to be able to achieve the objectives. Currently we are working already in 23 countries in Africa and, by this effort, we expect to create sustainable data collection systems that can improve the current situation of data scarcity that the African continent has.

4-      Today you heard the presentation on Tunisia's approach regarding the use of area frame sampling for agricultural statistics. What are your comments?

Tunisia’s presentation demonstrated a solid and well-structured approach to area frame sampling, particularly valuable in contexts where complete farm registers are not yet available. The use of GIS-based stratification, digital data collection tools, and integration of remote sensing represents an important modernization of agricultural statistics in the country. The experience shared — including the olive oil and oasis pilot surveys — shows clear progress and practical results, while also identifying operational challenges such as intra-segment variability and training needs. The approach offers a useful reference model for other countries in Africa exploring similar methods for improving the accuracy and representativeness of agricultural statistics. Overall, Tunisia’s work reflects strong institutional commitment and provides an encouraging pathway toward a modernized and more resilient agricultural statistics system.

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About AFCAS

The African Commission on Agricultural Statistics (AFCAS) is a statutory body of FAO and meets every two years. AFCAS brings together senior statistics officials from FAO member countries of the African continent, who are responsible for the development of agricultural statistics in their respective countries. They review and exchange ideas on the state of food and agricultural statistics in the continent and advise member countries on the development of their agricultural statistical systems within FAO's Programme of Work and Budget for Africa.