It is a common belief that driving agricultural growth and development in developing countries requires appropriate data-driven policies. This statement can only be correct if the data collected reflect the reality of the various stakeholders or actors in the sector; the methodology adopted, the appropriate actors interviewed, and the right strategies to address them in terms of actionable activities. In all data-driven policies, if the political willingness is missing such policies become another document added to the list of policies developed in the past, that are not useful or relevant to the end users.

Political willingness starts with the mindset that the government is interested in the well-being of the people and wants to change the status quo to improve their livelihood. Farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector are faced with unprecedented challenges, such as climate change, inflation, insecurity, lack of technical personnel, and regulatory issues amongst others, which require policies that address these new realities, and at the same time the political will to implement these policies appropriately and install a monitoring system to ensure that strategies deployed are effective.

Therefore, we must invest in data collection infrastructure in the agricultural sector to be able to achieve accurate and appropriate data that can be used for policy development. Also, we need more government-private initiatives to make agricultural data available, especially the government building the infrastructure to create the enabling environment and the private sector carrying out the operations using the infrastructure to optimize productivity. We need more people-oriented government initiatives that put improving rural people’s livelihoods at the center. To achieve food security, we need the right political will to address the real problems, but without it, we are still chasing shadows and building castles in the air.

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