GSARS Completes Successful FARMECO and Agricultural LOSSES Workshop in Benin

The Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics (GSARS) has recently organized a workshop on FARMECO and LOSSES in Benin. The mission, conducted from May 6 to 10, 2024, aimed to enhance the collection and analysis of statistical data on agricultural economic indicators (FARMECO) and on agricultural LOSSES. 

The activity’s objectives included finalizing technical assistance for the FARMECO and Agricultural Losses modules, supporting the Directorate of Agricultural Statistics (DSA) in processing and analyzing pilot survey data, and preparing presentations and results for a restitution workshop. This workshop was designed to present and discuss the outcomes of the GSARS II technical assistance with a wider audience of agricultural statistics data users. 

During the workshop, the FAO team and DSA representatives worked collaboratively on several key activities. They developed and implemented data collection tools for the FARMECO pilot survey, ensuring comprehensive data gathering processes. Extensive training sessions were conducted on using statistical software for analyzing agricultural survey data and understanding the concepts and definitions of economic indicators in agriculture. 

The mission also focused on the Agricultural Losses module, presenting a technical note on calculating loss indicators and implementing practical calculations using pilot survey data. Despite some challenges, such as an insufficient number of observations for measuring post-harvest drying losses, the mission successfully completed its objectives. 

On May 10, a restitution workshop was held with key stakeholders, including representatives from the Directorate of Agricultural Statistics (DSA), the National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INStaD), the General Secretariat of the Ministry (SGM), the Economic and Social Statistics Directorate/Regional Directorate for Agriculture and Forestry (SES/DRAF), the Technical Secretariat for the Global Strategy for Agriculture and Food Security (CT-SAGSA), the Territorial Agricultural Development Agency (ATDA), the Financing Institution (IF), the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries (MAEP), and the Departmental Directorate of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries (DDAOP). The workshop featured presentations by the DSA team, followed by a Q&A session where participants expressed a strong interest in obtaining nationally representative results. The Director of DSA assured participants that these results would be available through the 50x2030 Initiative, emphasizing the importance of these findings for various applications. 

This workshop’s success underscores the importance of continued collaboration and capacity building. GSARS remains committed to supporting Benin's agricultural statistics through initiatives like the 50x2030 Initiative, which aims to strengthen the statistical systems essential for informed decision-making and policy development.