The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) International Programs Office (IPO) recently hosted a delegation from Algeria to exchange knowledge on U.S. agricultural data methods, focusing on crop statistics.
As part of the USDA Cochran Fellowship Program, this visit highlighted the collaboration between NASS, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and NASDA in supporting global agricultural development. Through these partnerships, training and educational exchanges, countries like Algeria gain tools to improve their agricultural systems, enhance food and fiber production, and strengthen trade ties with the U.S.
The Algerian delegates learned how the U.S. gathers, analyzes, and uses agricultural data to inform policy and boost productivity, including acreage and production assessments. NASDA’s NASS Program Director Charlie Ingram provided an overview of the NASDA-NASS cooperative agreement and the important role of our enumerator program in ensuring accurate, reliable and efficient data collection.
In their second week, the delegates visited the NASS Great Lakes Regional Office in Lansing, MI. They met with NASDA Michigan Supervisor Wes Ruggles, who showed them how the Cherry/Fruit Production Survey is conducted. They also participated in a hands-on demonstration of the Corn Objective Yield Survey, led by NASDA Ohio Supervisor Kriss Karr, and gained insights into U.S. agricultural practices and the role of NASDA enumerators.
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NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries and directors of the departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S. territories. NASDA enhances American food and agricultural communities through policy, partnerships and public engagement. To learn more about NASDA, please visit www.nasda.org.
