Gabon is taking significant steps to enhance data-driven agricultural investment and planning, with support from the Joint SDG Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These efforts aim to strengthen evidence-based decision-making in agriculture and promote sustainable development across the country.
From 16 to 19 June 2025, the Government of Gabon held a four-day capacity-building workshop in Libreville focused on geospatial data management and spatial analysis for sustainable agriculture. The initiative brought together national institutions, technical experts, and United Nations partners to improve the use of high-quality data in agricultural planning and investment decisions.
The workshop is part of Gabon’s Joint SDG Fund–supported programme, which was launched following a 2024 agreement with the United Nations to bolster institutional and technical capacities for evidence-based strategic planning. A central goal of the programme is to ensure that public investments in agriculture and land use are guided by reliable data and aligned with inclusive and sustainable development priorities.
Approximately 40 participants took part in the training, including experts in statistics, digital agriculture, geospatial sciences, and strategic planning. They represented key national institutions such as the General Commissariat for Planning, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Gabonese Space Studies and Observations Agency, the Agricultural Development Agency of Gabon, as well as national statistics and cartography agencies, academic institutions, and UN partners.
The training reflects Gabon’s renewed commitment to long-term strategic planning, highlighted by the reopening of the Ministry of Planning and Foresight and the reestablishment of the General Commissariat for Planning. It aimed to equip national institutions with practical tools to transform data into actionable investment priorities, supporting more efficient and sustainable agricultural development.
