Data Users Needs

1. Data Users Needs Larry Sivers Director International Programs National Agricultural Statistics Service United States Department of Agriculture AFCAS Accra, Ghana October 2009

2. USDA-NASS Who is a Data User? • Anyone who uses data or information that will affect – • Government Policy • Private/Public Investment • Marketing Decisions • Monitoring and Evaluation

3. USDA-NASS What do Data Users’ Expect? • Comprehensive Coverage • Accuracy • Timeliness • Comparability • Availability

4. USDA-NASS Comprehensive Coverage • Cover all vital aspects • Acreage, yield, production, stocks, imports, exports, consumption • Livestock inventories, births, deaths, consumption • Employment rates, earnings, number of workers

5. USDA-NASS Accuracy Measures • Coverage – completeness • Entire country versus part • Complete count versus most • First estimate versus final • Comparison with Administrative sources • Comparison with Utilization

6. USDA-NASS Timeliness • Data still relevant when available • Punctual • Varies by kind of Statistic • Forecast versus Estimate versus Census

7. USDA-NASS Comparability • Comparable over time • Crop yields defined same way over time • Comparable over space • Crop yields defined same way over all provinces • Comparable reference periods

8. USDA-NASS Availability • Is information available to everyone? • At same time? • Easily accessible?

9. USDA-NASS NASS Approach to Capacity Building • Try to understand the situation in collaborating country—organizational structure, resources, data needs, unique cultural factors, methodologies in place • Workshop to provide case study of procedures in USA, not a how you should do it example, but to demonstrate methods and concepts that may be relevant

10. USDA-NASS NASS Approach to Capacity Building • Explain procedures and technology we have developed or have observed in other countries • Assist counterparts in • developing an overall agricultural statistics improvement plan • decide on what methods to implement first; training needed initially

11. NASS Approach to Capacity Building USDA-NASS • Collaboratively develop a test or pilot activity that would transfer a methodology • Provide training on concepts and procedures during pilot activity • Implement country wide after proof of concept was successful in a pilot test

12. NASS Approach to Capacity Building USDA-NASS • Effective collaboration concepts: • Advisors are counterparts, not supervisors • Need to respect local traditions, culture, and procedures • Counterparts have capability; but not the opportunity to have similar experiences or access to methodologies in past • Project needs to plan for sustainability

13. NASS Approach to Capacity Building USDA-NASS • Effective collaboration concepts Cont… • Not all methodology is effective in every setting, need to adjust to country specific needs • Data users needs must be addressed, not just what is thought they might need/want • High level officials support is critical: they must see need for data and how it would be useful to them and others

14. Building an effective agricultural statistics system Considerations for building an effective agricultural statistics system... Goals & Objectives Organization & Infrastructure responsibilities, coordination, staffing requirements Program content, scope, coverage, frequency Concepts, Definitions & Standards Sound Statistical Methodology sampling frames & sample design, survey design, data collection, processing, statistical analysis Data Dissemination & Archival Training data providers, data generators, data users