On the initiative of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), some thirty young researchers from the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in West Africa were trained in meta-analysis in Lomé/Togo. This regional meeting, held from 29 October to 02 November 2024, brought together researchers and teachers from countries benefiting from the Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP) and doctoral students sponsored by the said Programme, from some fifteen West African countries.
Participants were trained in the fundamental concepts of agricultural data management and analysis, with a view to mastering the tools and techniques that will enable them to carry out metadata analyses.
Thanks to this training, participants have an exportable database that they can use to write scientific articles and capitalise on the results for CORAF and their respective NARS.
This training course in Lomé/Togo initiated by CORAF is a response to the needs expressed by its members in terms of capacity building on emerging themes and practices in the agricultural sector.
Experts agree that meta-analysis of data has become an essential part of scientific research, particularly in the field of agriculture. It represents a quantitative assessment of knowledge on a given subject, making it an essential skill to acquire, over and above the traditional skills of literature review.
Indeed, the application of metadata analysis in the field of agriculture could facilitate the identification of data gaps and formulate new and robust research questions to be addressed to achieve food security. By combining the results of individual or national studies, meta-analysis produces summaries and conclusions that can be used to explain regional mechanisms or phenomena.
