As a way of ensuring accurate data generation by the Lagos State Government for planning and execution of agricultural policies, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations on Monday handed over ICT equipment to the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority (LSADA), an Agency of the State Ministry of Agriculture involved in the management of data and statistics relating to agriculture, food security and nutrition.
The FAO Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Fred Kafeero, made the donation to LSADA as part of activities to commemorate the Y2021 World Food Day with the theme: “Our Action Are Our Future, Better Production, Better Nutrition, A Better Environment and A Better Life”.
Kafeero, represented by the FAO Programme Officer, Mrs. Adeola Akinrinlola, maintained that data and statistics are crucial in the execution of agricultural programmes and are very key in the monitoring and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding that data and statistics play major roles in providing clear, objective, and numerical evidence on the level of achievements in the agricultural sector of programmes.
In his words: “The UN places the highest importance on data and statistics when it comes to monitoring of the SDGs implementation. Hence, the need to reinforce the competence of the statistics unit of the participating institutions and departments to generate, analyse, store and disseminate credible and timely data and information for policy planning and tracking the SDGs”.
“As part of the strategy to support the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to strengthen its data and statistical systems, FAO launched a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)”, he added.
Kafeero also informed that FAO, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), recently trained about 160 staff across the federation including Lagos State, being part of the strategies to equip statistics experts with appropriate knowledge and skills required to effectively discharge their duties.
While commending the Lagos State Government for its commitment and collaboration in the implementation of the project, Kafeero expressed belief that the project will not only benefit the MDAs involved but could also be replicated in the other departments and agencies to serve the interest of other data users in the country.
The ICT equipment handed over includes desktop computers, tablets, printers, local area network equipment, memory cards, internet modems, monitors and projectors, among others.
