By Lodu William Odiya
In a continued effort to strengthen South Sudan’s national statistical system, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially handed over a consignment of IT equipment to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In a statement that was released by the NBS yesterday, the donation which includes 10 high-performance laptops and a professional grade printer, is aimed at streamlining the coordination, production, and analysis of vital agricultural statistics/data across the country.
The handover is part of a broader strategic partnership designed to modernize how South Sudan handles food security and agricultural data.
By equipping the NBS with modern hardware and specialized software, the FAO aims to Provide NBS staff with the necessary tools to manage large-scale data sets efficiently, utilize pre-installed software to ensure agricultural information is precise,
timely, and actionable, and Foster long-term institutional growth by ensuring the Bureau has the infrastructure to lead national statistical projects.
According to the statement, Felix Dzvurumi, the FAO Team Leader, during the ceremony emphasized that the donation is a core component of the organization’s mandate to support government institutions.
“This is part of our mandate to build institutional capacity,” said Mr. Felix.
“This donation will directly facilitate the gathering and processing of agriculture information and statistics through the specialized software installed on these machines,”
The Director General of the NBS, Augustino Ting Mayai, expressed gratitude for the enduring partnership between the two entities.
He commended the FAO for their “continued and sustained support,” noting that such contributions are vital for the Bureau to fulfill its role in national development.
The event ended with a formal signing of handover documents, marking the official transfer of assets.
According to the press unit, this collaboration underscored a shared commitment to evidence-based policy making, ensuring that South Sudan’s agricultural sector is guided by reliable data and a skilled workforce.