The online start-up workshop presented the "Building a COVID-19 Rapid Response and Ag-Foresight Department in Egypt" project’s activities and future plans, including collaborative discussion and brainstorming with stakeholders on the most relevant issues and policies in the agricultural sector’s resilience during COVID-19.

1. This project is funded
by the European Union
Planning Workshop
Building A Covid-19 Rapid Response & Agricultural-Foresight Department In Egypt
How Can the Digital Agricultural Database be used for
Policy Making?
Kibrom Abay, IFPRI
International Food Policy Research Institute
February 2nd, 2021

2. Introduction
• The MENA region, including Egypt, is a data scarce region
• Conventional data sources and nationwide data collection efforts are
missing or are costly
• The advent of new sources of data (e.g., remote sensing) provides
new opportunities to inform agricultural policies in Egypt and
beyond.
• These data are reasonably objectively measured
• They are widely available, although most not readily available for
final consumers (e.g., policy makers, researchers and practitioners)

3. Rationale
• High-quality agricultural data are critical for measuring countries’
progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
-2.3.1 Productivity of small-scale food producers
-2.3.2 Income of small-scale food producers.
• These data are also equally important for evaluating and monitoring
current state of agriculture in Egypt (e.g., yields, cultivated area and
production of different crops).
-What is the dynamic role of the sector and sub-sectors?

4. • These data are important for informing effective policy and program
design and analysis
-How best can we increase agricultural productivity?
-Which type of crop profiles can trigger promising value chains?
-How can we reshape post-COVID-19 agricultural policies?
• Agricultural data can inform the foundation of future food systems
-How will local and global food supply and demand look like?
- Where (which subsectors) should Egypt invest to build a
resilient and future-proof food system?