Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) launched Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) – a web-based tool to facilitate dissemination and analysis of food price data. The FPMA was launched according to the agreement between the FAO and WIUT on the “Technical implementation of the Price and market information system and related policy analysis for selected agricultural value chains in Uzbekistan” in a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The FPMA Tool provides an easy way to access the large amounts of price data. It allows users to quickly browse single price series, create comparisons among countries/markets/commodities, download of charts, data and basic statistics such as averages, standard deviations and percentage changes.
The global version of the tool was developed in 2010. Building on the success and experience gained through developing the Food Price Monitoring and Analysis Tool at global level, the tool has been adapted for use at a country level. The country level version of the price tool contains a broader selection of commodities and markets than what is available in the global level tool. WIUT is the first partner of FAO where the country level tool was successfully installed “on-premises”.
The tool in Uzbekistan is available in three languages – Uzbek, English and Russian. As of today, the tool includes data on 77 food commodities from the dekhkan markets starting from January 2019. The tool is hosted and maintained by the Center of Policy Research and Outreach (CPRO) at WIUT. The Center collaborates with the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics, and other national ministries and agencies on getting access to data, and the Center also started collecting data from a local retail market.
The tool will also support the Government of Uzbekistan in the implementation of the Agriculture Development Strategy for 2020-2030. Price and market information systems are important in agricultural development, especially for smallholders and food producers. Reliable price information will increase market transparency, competitiveness and ensure a more equitable distribution of income among the key players. A timely and reliable price information can promote the sustainable food value chain development and support agrifood systems transformation for more affordable of a healthy diet, for better income of small farmers and better life, and better environment.
The aim of this launch event is to make the FPMA Tool and database a valuable public good for providing the national and international community and decision-makers with timely and reliable price information. The price data can be used by a wide range of national institutions, international organizations, academia and the media.
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