The national CountrySTAT system of Gambia will be officially launched this July 8th. The event will be held in the premises of Paradise Suits Hotel located in Senegambia Area at 9:00am.

CountrySTAT is a web-based information system that allows gathering and monitoring of national and sub-national food and agriculture data in compliance with international standards. Easily accessible and maintained, it provides a solid framework for an improved accessibility of reliable and timely data, which is essential for implementing better policies and investments in agriculture. The implementation of this system will also help to strengthen the collaboration between statistical institutions, ministries of agriculture and other relevant institutions in the country.

Another feature of CountrySTAT is that it is nationally owned and managed. The National CountrySTAT Secretariat comprising of members from different institutions is responsible for the maintenance and updating of the system. The collected data is standardized according to international standards and is made available to all users in a single access-point. The availability of reliable and timely food and agriculture data constitutes an important asset for an informed policy-making and decision-taking.

The latest report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) on the state of the food insecurity in the world noted that approximately 870 million people were undernourished during the period 2010-2012, or 1 in 8. The overwhelming majority of them (852 million people) live in developing countries, where it is now estimated that 14.9% of the population are affected by malnutrition.
The official launch of CountrySTAT will create an opportunity for the policy-makers, government officials, development partners and other participants to get acquainted with the value-added of the system and to learn how it can be used to improve data quality and to support the policy making process.