2024 Virtual Trainings on SDG Indicator 2.4.1 “Proportion of Agricultural Area under Productive and Sustainable Agriculture”

Virtual Event, 11/06/2024 - 04/10/2024

From June to October 2024, FAO organized a series of virtual training workshops on SDG indicator 2.4.1 “Proportion of Agricultural Area under Productive and Sustainable Agriculture” for which FAO is the custodian agency.

The goal was to provide government officials responsible for monitoring the indicator capacity development on the methodology, data collection and analysis relevant to sustainable food and agriculture.

Information was provided on appropriate data collection instruments, namely farm surveys, including how to use these to provide the data needed for the SDG 2.4.1 sub-indicators and to identify the data gaps faced by countries.

Objectives

More specifically, sessions were organized between June and October 2024 to:

Provide technical training to build capacity of the national staff on SDG indicator 2.4.1 farm survey-based methodology, data collection, compilation and interpretation
Identify available national and sub-national farm level and other data useful to analyze sustainable food and agriculture
Understand the data gaps
Introduce the proxy indicator for interim reporting on SDG 2.4.1
Discuss the country plans to collect data on the indicator in the short/medium/long term

Outcomes

133 participants from 20 countries were trained on the conceptual, methodological and technical issues, data collection, compilation, reporting and interpretation of the indicator through presentations, discussions, Q&A sessions and quizzes;
FAO introduced tools for the indicator’s data collection including standalone survey module and alternative data sources i.e. censuses, administrative records etc.;
The activity trigged the process of assessment of the available national and sub-national data required to measure and report on the indicator through stocktaking exercise and action plans to be submitted by the participating countries.

Participants

The online trainings were composed of participants from the following countries:

Africa (Côte d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique and Zimbabwe)
Latin America and the Caribbean (Bolivia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago)
Near East and North Africa / Europe and Central Asia (Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Mongolia, Syrian Arab Republic, UAE, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yemen)

They offered an opportunity to share good practices and experiences. Furthermore, the trainings provided participants a platform to discuss and share their strategies for overcoming the potential challenges regarding data collection, analysis and reporting of SDG indicator 2.4.1.