Liberia: FAO Concludes A Two-Day Training Of Enumerators For Conduct Of A National Food Supply, Agricultural Livelihoods, Food Security Survey

MONROVIA – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Liberia in collaboration with the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo Information Services (LISGIS) on Thursday 8^th September concluded a two-day training of 32 enumerators for the conduct of Food Supply, Agricultural Livelihoods and Food Security Monitoring Survey in the context of COVID-19 (Round Three) in Liberia.

According to FAO’s Data Analyst/ Statistician, Jacob B. Kolleh, the survey seeks to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and other periodic shocks on agricultural production, rural livelihoods, market flows, and food security in Liberia.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the enumerators training, the Director General of the LISGIS, Mr. Francis Wreh said one of the surest ways Liberia as a country can overcome food insecurity shocks, is through quality data and by ensuring that policy makers act appropriately on the findings and recommendations garnered from such vital exercises.

He urged the enumerators drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture, LISGIS, National Assistance Food Agency and National Disaster Management Agency to take the training seriously, in order to enable them to collect / gather quality date in the fields.

‘’Many of such food security related surveys have been undertaken in the past with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization in Liberia over the years’’, concludes the Director General of LISGIS.

In his overview, Statistician Jacob Kolleh, said the enumerators training comprised of drilling the enumerators through the reference sheets for targeted interviewees/ respondents, administration of questions, FAO’s general training principles, familiarization of Kobo content, practice and sample data collection among others.         

While presenting the questionnaire as one of the tools of the survey, Mr. Jacob Kolleh stated that data collection for the conduct of the survey would be carried out in all the fifteen counties in Liberia; targeting agricultural and none-agricultural households, (respondents above 18 years), residents, returnees and temporary migrants in targeted communities for twelve days. ‘’Thereafter, the survey data collected will be imputed and analysed within one month to be able to come out with the survey findings,’’ said the FAO Statistician.