Data collection and analysis tools for food security and nutrition

participants, and the development of a custom 
data integration platform. Hence, SIAgroBD 
contributes to enhancing capacities with respect 
to data generation, access, analysis and use by 
different actors.
GLOBAL STRATEGY TO IMPROVE 
AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL 
STATISTICS
The 
Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural 
and Rural Statistics
33
(GSARS) of the FAO is a 
coordinated, long-term initiative to address the 
decline in the agricultural statistical systems of 
developing countries. The strategy contributes 
to harmonizing national and international 
agricultural statistics systems.
Significant results were achieved during its 
first phase of implementation (2012–2018): i) 
agricultural statistical methods were completely 
upgraded and endorsed by FAO, ii) Strategic Plans 
for Agricultural and Rural Statistics (SPARS) were 
prepared in almost 40 countries, iii) a fast-track 
model of technical assistance was successfully 
implemented, and iv) tangible progress was made 
in countries’ overall statistics capacity through 
regional training programmes (FAO, 2019b).
The second phase of the GSARS (2020–2025) 
focuses on the application and use of existing 
methodologies and approaches developed in the 
framework of the first phase. GSARS contributes 
to strengthening the statistical capacities of 
countries through the provision of training and 
technical assistance at national, regional and 
global levels (UN Statistical Commission, 2019). 
The activities of the GSARS are interlinked with 
the activities of the 50x2030 Initiative to close 
the agricultural data gap, aimed at collecting 
data in 50 low-income and lower middle-income 
countries by 2030.
INITIATIVES IN STAKEHOLDER 
COLLABORATION
As mentioned earlier in this report, data collection 
and analyses of food insecurity and malnutrition 
has been impeded by a lack of collective effort and 
shared commitment across institutions, resulting 
in expensive, redundant, incomplete and inefficient 
processes. On the other hand, collaboration 
among stakeholders of the data chain results in 
generation of timely, relevant and good-quality 
data for decision-makers, enhanced digitalization 
efforts and better use of available information. 
Thus, inclusive and multi-stakeholder approaches 
can enhance trust, support data governance, 
information sharing, leading to better utilisation 
of data. This can also result in higher success 
when seeking funding for FSN data-collection 
efforts. With respect to FSN, collaboration among 
stakeholders of sustainable 
food supply chain
management including farmers, policymaking 
organisations and research institutions based 
on data-sharing activities, trust, commitment, 
coordination, stability and joint efforts, facilitates 
achievement of food security, business and 
environmental outcomes (Dania, Xing and Amer, 
2018). Given its organization and mandate, FAO 
may play a vital role in improving engagement of 
relevant stakeholders through its liaison offices 
while extending country level support.
Exemplars in achieving success in international 
collaborations are characterised by the 
commitment to engaging stakeholders, 
creating of a shared vision amongst them (as 
with the EAF-Nansen programme, 
SEE BOX 31
) 
and coordination among all the participating 
organisations (for example, in Nepal’s nutrition 
sensitive livestock introduction programme, 
SEE 
BOX 32
).
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http://gsars.org/en/

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INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE FOR FSN DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND USE
BOX 31:
THE EAF-NANSEN PROGRAMME
The EAF-Nansen Programme is a partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 
(FAO), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), 
Bergen, Norway, for sustainable management of the fisheries of partner countries (
FAO n.d.a
). The long-term 
objective is that “Sustainable fisheries improve food and nutrition security for people in partner countries” (FAO, 
n.d.). Since 1974, the programme has provided an opportunity for coastal low- and middle-income countries to 
assess and manage their fisheries resources, and in 2017 the theme “nutrition and food safety” was implemented in 
the science plan (Moxness Reksten et al., 2020). Fishes are sampled on the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen, and 
most of the samples are analysed at the accredited laboratories at IMR. As part of the capacity building embedded 
in the programme, local scientists and students can get funds to pursue a master’s degree or PhD and take part 
in mentoring programmes. The results may assist national food authorities to evaluate the beneficial effects of 
nutrients against any potentially negative effects of contaminants or biohazards and guide officials tasked with 
regulating aquatic foods for both local consumption and exportation.
BOX 32:
NEPAL’S NUTRITION SENSITIVE LIVESTOCK INTRODUCTION PROGRAMME
A four-year longitudinal investigation in rural Nepal demonstrated that an intervention that promoted livestock 
introduction and related training for community development and poverty alleviation was associated with 
significantly improved child anthropometry and child health. The project involved various non-governmental 
organisations (NGOs) that independently collected data on the effectiveness of government-driven implementation 
of the programme. The activities represent a viable ‘nutrition sensitive’ intervention, but these impacts take time to 
manifest and be sustained. The programmes’ collective outputs, monitoring and evaluation efforts and knowledge 
generation were made possible through well-planned methodology, intervention delivery and data collection through 
an effective collaboration between the participating organisations and the stakeholders. (Miller et al., 2017).
Another example of a successful collaborative