The first technical mission of the 50×2030 Initiative from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has paid a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Statistician-General of the Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL), Andrew Bob Johnny at their headquarters in Freetown.

The mission of the technical team courtesy visit is to review the tools, methodology, and plan of Stat SL and discuss possible improvements on the implementation of the 50×2030 Initiative grant awarded to the department.

Bako Dramane from the Economic and Social Statistics department of the FAO congratulated the incoming Statistician-General (SG) on his recent appointment and pledged his team’s support to work with the new Chief Executive Officer of Stats SL in implementing the $4.1M grant awarded to Stats SL.

He added that data represents a key component to guarantee food sufficiency, particularly in lower-income countries.

He stated that the 50×2030 initiative aims to increase the capacity of 50 low and lower-middle-income countries to produce, analyze, interpret, and apply data to decisions in the agricultural sector that support rural development and food security.

The newly appointed Statistician General, Andrew Bob Johnny, thanked the team for the visit.

He stated that agriculture represents an important area for government and the provision of data to support agricultural productivity cannot be overemphasized.

He said with the support of his directors and the team of staff at Stats SL, the department will work assiduously with the initiative to implement the awarded grant with utmost accountability and competence.

The 50×2030 Initiative brings together the strongest partners in Agricultural Development to solve the problem of the agricultural data gap. It seeks to bridge the global agricultural data gap by transforming Data Systems in 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America by 2030. The Initiative focuses on improving Country-Level data by building strong nationally representative survey programs.

Stats SL will lead and work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, FAO, and other partners to implement the Initiative in Sierra Leone.

Also in attendance from the Economic and Social Statistics department of the FAO were Mr Nayo Ankouvi and Mr Robin Yokie, the Director of National Accounts and Economic Statistics of Stats SL, Mwaluma Andrew Bryma Gegbe, and the Principal Statistician in charge of Agricultural Statistics, Momodu M. Kamara.