Montserrado County – The Ministry of Agriculture, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday, April 28, 2017, officially launched the statistics and information management system unit project.
The launching program took place in the conference Hall of the Agriculture Department of the University of Liberia Fendell Campus, lower Montserrado County.
Speaking at the program, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Moses Zinnah, said the project is geared towards supporting the statistics and information management systems of the Ministry, adding that it will help revitalize the statistics and information management unit of the Ministry.
Dr. Zinnah added that the initiative is also designed to strengthen the institution’s capacity to provide, manage and sustain a reliable database on the MOA performance.
The MOA boss noted that the re-establishment and strengthening of the statistics unit in the department of planning and development of the Ministry will ensure reliable and timely data for evidence-based planning, policy formulation, decision-making and give the government of Liberia and development partners access to available data.
“I am delighted to be here to participate in the launch of this new eighteen months agriculture statistics project, funded by the technical cooperation agreement between the government of Liberia and the Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations, valued at US$458, 000,” he said.
Minister Zinnah lauded FAO for their partnership and immense contribution towards the project, stressing that the initiative is timely and will be budgeted by the ministry to boost the agriculture sector.
“We will mainstream this unit into the ministry to ensure that it is budgeted to survive because, without data, it is difficult to make a decision. We are also working with other institutions to assist us with statisticians that will work with our colleagues to build their capacity so that we re-institutionalized the unit to provide information for decision making,” he asserted.
For his part, Marc Abdala, FAO Representative to Liberia said the project is intended to boost the agricultural sector of the country in order to achieve the agenda for transformation in 2030, and the strategic development goals.
“What prompted the project is to know that countries have committed themselves to achieve the agenda for transformation 2030, and the strategic development goals which Liberia is a part. And to ensure that we are moving in good progress, we need a data, a data to know where we are coming from and where we are heading,” he said.
He noted that the project will assist the MOA to prepare a sustainable plan for the ministry statistics division systems, stressing that it is his hope that the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will use the project for its intended purpose to benefit Liberians.
“This huge amount of money is invested in getting a huge benefit for Liberians, huge benefits for Liberians to make sure that all the planning processes, the donors, the actors involved get the benefit of the project.:
“We are heading to improve whatever needs to be improved in the agricultural sector in the county, based on the better baseline.”