By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The Alliance of Bioversity
International and CIAT has conducted its first capacity-sharing workshop with
the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) to strengthen the integration of
statistics and spatial intelligence for more informed policymaking.
The workshop, conducted
through the CGIAR Policy Innovations Program and CGIAR Climate Action, explored
practical applications of spatial analytics across agriculture, climate and
socioeconomic data.
Led by Chun Song from the
Alliance’s PISA team, the workshop also featured contributions from James
Gachanja, Senior Policy Analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy
Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), and Abhijeet Mishra from the International Food
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Discussions focused on
mapping future food demand by crop alongside climate hazard risks, using
satellite data for more detailed crop mapping, and mapping socioeconomic and
food security indicators at the local level.
Participants also explored
ways to strengthen capacities around environmental Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) indicators, including mountain green cover.
The initiative aims to
strengthen the use of spatial data and analytics within national institutions,
helping connect statistical information with local conditions and policy needs.
According to the Alliance in
Africa, the engagement goes beyond technical training by creating new
opportunities for collaboration between research and national statistical
institutions.
The collaboration is
expected to help bring spatial intelligence closer to the systems and decisions
that shape food security, climate resilience and sustainable development in
Kenya.
