On Friday, November 4, 2022, the official launch of a Regional Agricultural Information System (SIAR) took place in Ouagadougou. A database platform on agriculture in the community area is this time available at the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

The newly installed SIAR database platform is available online. In fact, the UEMOA Commission seems to be convinced that no agricultural development in the subregion is possible without reliable data on this sector. For Iba Mar Oularé, chief of staff to the president of the UEMOA commission, the official launch of this platform is an important step towards mastering agricultural statistical data in a sector that is so vital for the development of the subregion. According to him, “SIAR is designed to play a fundamental role in guiding and managing our agricultural and food security interventions at all levels.”

Gilbert Zongo, head of the food security and agricultural information systems division who presented the tool believes that the data from the SIAR affect five components of the agricultural sector. These include major value chains (forestry, aquaculture, livestock, agriculture and fisheries), agricultural markets, food and nutrition security, macroeconomics, the agricultural and rural sector, and international agricultural negotiations.