1. PARIS21 CONSORTIUM MEETING Paris, 17-18 October 2002 Progress Report of the Task Team on Food, Agriculture and Rural Statistics  Objectives  Past activities of the TT up to October 2002  Work Program for the period between October 2002 and June 2003  PARIS Seminar

2. Objectives of the task team (i) foster the use of food and agricultural statistics in the development and monitoring of poverty reduction strategies and food security policies; (ii) encourage the linkages between the agricultural statistics systems and national systems and contribute to the advocacy of FARS; (iii) advise on ways and means of mobilising more resources to support capacity building in FARS; (iv) provide a forum for exchange of innovative ideas, sharing of experiences and best practices, promote better co-ordination among stakeholders; (v) assist in identifying areas for research needed on how to minimise costs of data collection and ensure timely and full use of results.

3. Past activities of the TT up to October 2002 : Paris, October 2001: first formal meeting of the TT  discussion of draft terms of reference for the task team: justification, objectives, outputs, structure, mode of operating It was agreed  that the TT will not duplicate but build on existing work being done by various Agencies: FAO, World Bank, Bilateral institutions etc..;  the task team should act as a catalyst and facilitator;  the task team aim for a global reach rather than sub-regional level;  FAO Statistics Division should convene the Team.

4. Past activities of the TT up to October 2002 : Pretoria, 22–26 November 2001, Africa Region: workshop on “Strengthening Food and Agricultural Statistics in Africa”, back-to-back with the 17 th Session of FAO-AFCAS (with support of TFSCB)  not formally organised by the Task Team;  however the workshop strongly supported a proposal for Strengthening Food and Agricultural Statistics in Africa and further developments in the context of PARIS21 (workshop documents on CD-ROM and at www.fao.org/ES/ESS/index.html www.fao.org/ES/ESS/index.html

5. Past activities of the TT up to October 2002 : Paris, 15 February 2002: informal meeting: PARIS21, FAO, World Bank, French Cooperation.  review of progress of TT and the Initiative in the Africa Region;  it was decided to organise a high level Seminar bringing together policy makers, statisticians and the Donor Community to discuss and agree on the strategy of a Regional Proposal for Strengthening Agricultural and Rural Statistics in Support of PRSP and Food Security policies in Africa.  A Preparatory Committee was proposed for the Seminar.

6. Past activities of the TT up to October 2002 : Rome, 4 June 2002: Preparatory Committee Meeting (under the auspices of PARIS21 TT): FAO, WB, UN-ECA, AfDB, French Cooperation, Statistics Norway, Representative of Mali.  discussion and adoption of Seminar objectives, Agenda, Papers, Authors, and organisational details (date, place, funding, etc..) and responsibilities of each Agency.

7. Past activities of the TT up to October 2002 : Paris, 16 and 17 September 2002: PARIS21 TT Seminar on a New Partnership to Strengthen Agricultural and Rural Statistics in Africa for Poverty Reduction and Food Security  The Seminar was organised with significant technical and material support from PARIS21, French Cooperation and technical support from FAO, WB, EUROSTAT and other agencies);  Participation: 17 International, Regional and bilateral Agencies attended the meeting and 13 High level Statisticians and Policy makers from African countries  Outcome: agreement on guiding principles for a new partnership in Food Agriculture and Rural Statistics in Africa; Agreement on the content of a long term programme to support capacity building in this sector (programme to be developed for further discussion with interested Donors).  Documents of the Seminar at: www.paris21.org

8. Work Program for the period between October 2002 and June 2003: October 2002 to March 2003 :  redesign of the Web page for the TT;  contact all members and update membership list in order to get a core list of active members available for contribution to specific tasks;  Mobilisation of support for proposal of programme to Strengthen Agricultural and Rural Statistics Systems in Africa: (i) direct support to interim proposal; (ii) donor meeting to discuss proposal.

9. Work Program for the period between October 2002 and June 2003: October 2002 to June 2003 :  Review of TT objectives, tasks, lifespan;  Collection and dissemination on the WEB, of existing and relevant technical documentation, good practices from various agencies: FAO, EUROSTAT, AFRISTAT, SADC, USDA, Statistics Norway, Countries.  Support of a consultant for one month.

10. Work Program for the period between Regional meetings:  Seoul, South Korea 21-25 October 2002: Presentation on PARIS21 and TTFARS at 19 th APCAS (directors of Agricultural and National Statistical Offices of Asia and Pacific).  Workshop back-to-back with 18 th Session of AFCAS (date and place to be decided).

11. PARIS SEMINAR: SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES:  Rationalise the systems of agricultural statistics: strategic planning, medium term and demand driven plan (Poverty alleviation, Food Security, Sector Planning etc..).  Better use of existing information: development of relevant indicators, improve access to data, analysis of existing data.  Integration of support to agricultural statistics in sub-regional policies (where relevant)  Promote democratic debate around statistical information  Mobilisation of funding for implementation of strategic framework and medium term plan: countries/donors  Promote research.

12. PARIS SEMINAR: ACTIVITIES INCLUDED IN THE REGIONAL PROGRAMME PROPOSAL  Systematic analysis of PRSPs and Food, Agriculture and Rural Statistics Systems in countries  Agricultural statistics components of National Statistical Strategic Plans  Research on relevant subjects, including rural indicators  Analysis and dissemination of existing data  Staff trained  Dissemination of good practices and experiences

13. PARIS SEMINAR : INPUTS FOR THE PROGRAMME :  Technical assistance: use of regional and national expertise completed by expertise from agencies  Training, including strengthening of sub-regional training institutions  Credit line in support of country activities;  Networking and information sharing  Funds in support of research  Meetings between countries of sub-regions and between sub-regions

14. PARIS SEMINAR :  Umbrella global support component  Sub-regional components (3)  Country programmes  Cost to be developed