Robust and reliable agricultural data is essential for countries to develop targeted policies for sustainable food production and economic growth. But many low- and lower middle-income countries are often unable to produce and use this kind of data.

A new special section of the Statistical Journal of International Agricultural Statisticians (SJIAOS) documents the work of the 50x2030 Initiative to address some of these shortcomings and strengthen national agricultural data systems in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The papers cover the Initiative’s innovative approaches to a range of issues, from data collection, to modelling, to technical and financial assistance, and more. As well as providing insights into the successes and challenges to date, they also contribute to critical discussions on the production and use of agricultural data for impact.

Closing the data gap in agriculture through sustainable investment in the data value chain: Realizing the vision of the 50x2030 Initiative

Zezza A, Gourlay S, and Molini V.

From agricultural statistics to zero hunger: How the 50x2030 Initiative is closing data gaps for SDG2 and beyond

Villarino MEJ, Buenaseda-Tejada MG, and Patterson SE.

The 50x2030 Initiative and production of SDG 2 indicators: Country challenges and experiences

Bolliger F, Bako D, Brunelli C, Georgieva N, Koudelka K, Missiroli S, and Pare L.

Integrated sampling design for agricultural and socio-economic households surveys: Overview and application in Uganda Harmonized Integrated Survey

Bako D, D’Orazio M, Missiroli S, Ssennono VF, Brunelli C, Kilic T, Ponzini G, and Bolliger F.

Individual land rights: Filling data gaps with the 50x2030 Initiative

Brunelli C, and Gourlay S.

Combining farm and household surveys with modelling approaches to improve post-harvest loss estimates and reduce data collection costs

Rühl D, Tiberti M, Mendez-Gomez-Humaran I, and Cachia F.