The Center held the first meeting of the interdepartmental working group within the framework of the FAO project “Institutionalization damage and loss assessment methodology for agriculture sector in the Republic of Kazakhstan”

March 29, 2024 via videoconference, as part of the implementation of a joint project with FAO “Institutionalization damage and loss assesment methodology for the agricultural sector in the Republic of Kazakhstan" the Center held the first meeting of the interdepartmental working group.

The interdepartmental working group (IWG) includes representatives of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, FAO representatives in the Republic of Kazakhstan were also took part in the meeting.

The Сenter presented the goals, objectives, activities and expected results of the project. Members of the IWG were familiarized with the work plan and terms of reference, discussed and agreed on the program and list of participants for the starting national technical workshop, scheduled offline for April 18 of this year in Astana with the participation of top officials of the above ministries.

The main goal of the project is to establish a system for the regular collection of data on damage and losses associated with disasters in agriculture, through the institutionalization of a methodology for assessing damage and losses for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, developed in accordance with the FAO methodology for assessing damage and loss for agriculture.

It is notable that the as part of FAO's Damage and Loss Assessment methodology, a web-based demo software tool has been developed to support the analysis of field data collection and reporting of damage and loss data from natural disasters in agriculture. Currently, this tool has no analogues, since it allows you to do everything: from quick assessment based on a sample to in-depth analysis at the level of agricultural producers and assets.

The tool bridges the gap between theoretical damage and loss assessment methodology and the practical steps of data collection and analysis, combining FAO's DLA methodology with an online database, GIS mapping and mobile application that enable random or comprehensive assessments and cost estimates of disaster impacts for the rural population and their assets. The final result of the project is the practical implementation of this tool in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The meeting made it possible to establish coordination between the relevant ministries for further joint work within the framework of the project.