Monrovia, Liberia – The Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo Information Services in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture is expected to begin the 2022- 2023 agricultural census throughout the country.
LISGIS Acting Director General, Lawrence George, said the government-owned statistic entity will work with the Agriculture Ministry in order to develop a comprehensive statistic in the agricultural sector.
Mr. George made the disclosure when he delivered the keynote speech marking the opening of a two-day meeting of stakeholders on Liberia 2022 2023 agricultural census stakeholders meeting held in Monrovia Wednesday.
According to him, LISGIs and the Agriculture Ministry along with partners have worked on ad-hoc basis in order to reduce the gap created in the absence of an accurate data.
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations’ national project coordinator, Emmanuel Kapee, stated in remarks that the FAO values statistical data when launching programs in any community.
Mr. Kapee claims that the FAO is working to support national agriculture censuses through a ten-year program for world agricultural census and measures for capacity building.
”Through its Ten-Year Programs for the World Census of Agriculture and its programs to enhance statistical capability, FAO has worked to support national agricultural censuses.”
He clarified that Liberia’s agricultural census is a component of the FAO’s 2020 World Census of Agriculture Program, which covers the years 2016 through 2025. He applauded the World Bank, FAO, and IFAD program for data smart agriculture, which aims to develop national agricultural data systems in 50 countries by the year 2030.
According to various studies, 60% of Liberia’s population depends on agriculture for existence, according to J. Dennis Wiage, the Officer in Charge of Planning and Development at the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to him, policy makers and technicians lacked the necessary information to make informed decisions about how this industry affects people’s lives.
Representatives from various ministries, agencies, as well as national and international agricultural organizations attended the agricultural census meeting, which was sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organization, the World Bank, and the International Fund of Agriculture Development.
Reported by: Augustine Octavius
Contact: +231777463963
Email: augustineoctavius@gmail.com
