Accra, GHANA– The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) presented tablets and other information and technology (IT) equipment to the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate (SRID) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA). The electronic equipment and software were donated to enhance the collection of agricultural statistics. The IT equipment and data collection system will minimize human error in agriculture data collection and analysis, as well as improve overall data quality and credibility. USAID Mission Director, Andrew Karas, handed over the IT equipment to Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Honorable Dr. Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan.
Among the equipment donated were 3G tablets fitted with global positioning system (GPS), which will help SRID produce credible data and information to support appropriate and effective policy analysis, decision-making and planning. In Ghana, policymakers often lack quality data, as well as the capacity to analyze and communicate findings. Funded by USAID, the Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP) assisted SRID to design, develop and implement a Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) data collection system in support of the Ghana Agriculture Production and Market Price Surveys.
CAPI provides a holistic approach for quality agriculture data collection including geographical information system plotting, analysis and management. The donated equipment will allow SRID to move from collecting data using a pencil and paper, to real-time mobile data collection using the CAPI system on 3G tablets to conduct Ghana’s annual Agricultural Production Survey and Market Price Survey.
APSP, as part of Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s hunger and food security initiative, will support SRID with its data collection to ensure data quality and for policy-making purposes. Additionally through APSP, SRID staff and district-level officers are receiving training on the CAPI system. The development of the CAPI system begun in June 2015 and the application, system implementation, monitoring and gradual transfer to SRID will be completed by September 2016.
About APSP
The Agriculture Policy Support Project (APSP) is a five-year Feed the Future project, with the goal to improve the food security-enabling environment for private sector investment. The aim is to increase the capacity of the Government of Ghana, the private sector and civil society organizations to implement evidence-based policies, conduct research and advocacy and perform rigorous monitoring and evaluation of agriculture programs implemented under the Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan.
About Feed the Future:
Feed the Future is the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth and trade that increase incomes and reduce hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. For more information, visit www.feedthefuture.gov.
