Concluding the Fifth Activity within the AGPROD Package in Lesotho: A Successful Training Session on the Analysis of Pilot Survey Data

In a significant step towards enhancing Lesotho's statistical capabilities, the Lesotho National Statistics Agency (LNSA) recently concluded a crucial workshop under the umbrella of the second phase of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics (GSARS). Held at the FAO office in Maseru from November 6 to 10, 2023, the training focused on advancing the AGPROD programme with the guidance of expert trainer Abdelkader TALHAOUI. 

The AGPROD program represents a strategic project to strengthen Lesotho's statistical infrastructure. Prior achievements, such as the successful pilot survey and the recent training session, represent the commitment of the Lesotho National Statistics Agency and GSARS to elevate Lesotho's capacity to generate robust and consistent statistics, particularly in the field of agricultural production. 

The Lesotho National Statistics Agency, with the support of GSARS, has been actively engaged in the AGPROD program, targeting the improvement of agricultural production statistics. The recent mission involved crucial activities, including the development and validation of the AGPROD questionnaire, training of enumerators for a pilot survey, and following the analysis of collected data. 

The primary goal of the mission was to conduct a comprehensive training session on the analysis of pilot survey data. This five-day workshop, held in Maseru, brought together 12 participants, including 10 members from the Lesotho National Statistics Bureau and 2 representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture. The collaboration extended to include the FAO office in Lesotho, enriching the training process. 

The training methodology was interactive, encouraging active participation from attendees. By the end of the session, participants were expected to have acquired proficiency in several essential skills, including exporting data from CS-Pro to STATA, exploring the STATA database, calculating simple indicators from the AGPROD dataset, and computing composite indicators involving the merging of two or more databases.  

The successful completion of the workshop marks a significant milestone in Lesotho's pursuit of advanced statistical capabilities. The collaborative efforts of the Lesotho National Statistics Agency, GSARS program, and the FAO office in Lesotho demonstrate a collective commitment to building sustainable statistical capacity in Lesotho and reinforce the potential for generating robust and consistent statistics on agricultural production with the support of our generous donors the European Union and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.