Training begins in Sierra Leone to transform agricultural data into policy insights

Nearly 80% of people in Sierra Leone are food insecure. Agriculture is also the country's largest economic sector, employing more than 60% of the workforce. 

From 27–31 July, government officials from national statistical offices and ministries responsible for agriculture, planning, finance, trade, environment, fisheries, meteorology gathered in Freetown, Sierra Leone for the first module of a new training program to build capacity in agricultural monitoring and GIS, data analytics and visualization, systems development, and policy integration. 

The training, delivered by the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), was the first of four modules. The skills developed through the training program will strengthen national capacity to improve and use data for policymaking, helping the country tackle food insecurity. 

This training is part of the Strengthening Agricultural Data for Policy (AgriData-SL) initiative, supported by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Gates Foundation, and the Global Partnership. The initiative aims out strengthen coordination and alignment across the agricultural data ecosystem and enhance local data and analytical capacities. Anchored in national and continental priorities—including the Feed Salone Initiative, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), and the 50x2030 Initiative—the initiative responds to the urgent need not only for accurate, timely, and disaggregated data, but for that data to be actively used to guide policy, investment, and accountability.