By Danielle Duan
13 May, 2026 – The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) successfully concluded the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)-sponsored capacity-building and knowledge exchange program, titled “Strengthening Statistical Knowledge on Standard Methodologies of Statistical Systems for Quality of Data Collection and Analysis”, held from 2–12 May 2026 at the AIT campus in Thailand.
Co-organized by the FAO and AIT, the program brought together officials and experts from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPR Korea) to strengthen technical expertise in agricultural statistics, data collection methodologies, and statistical analysis to support sustainable agricultural development and evidence-based policymaking.
The intensive training program covered a wide range of topics, including agricultural census methodologies, computer-assisted interviewing techniques, geospatial tools for agricultural statistics, crop yield modelling, and statistical data analysis. The participants also undertook study visits to key Thai government agencies, including the National Statistical Office and the Office of Agricultural Economics under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
In his opening remarks, AIT Vice President for Academic and Research, Prof. Manukid Parnichkun, highlighted the longstanding partnership between FAO and AIT, emphasizing their shared commitment to advancing regional capacity development and international knowledge exchange. Mr. Joe Emmanuele Colombano, United Nations Resident Coordinator of DPR Korea, welcomed the participants and expressed appreciation for AIT’s continued commitment to supporting international cooperation and technical capacity building in the region.
The program featured contributions from distinguished experts from FAO, AIT, and Thailand’s national agencies. Dr. Sushil Kumar Himanshu, Deputy Dean and Associate Professor of AIT’s Faculty of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, who also served as the project lead, worked closely with FAO in designing and implementing the technical training program to ensure meaningful knowledge exchange and practical learning opportunities for the participating DPRK officials.
The successful completion of the program further strengthened the partnership between FAO and AIT and reaffirmed the importance of international collaboration in enhancing statistical systems, agricultural resilience, and food security in the region. The program also marked the second high-level training initiative co-organized by FAO and AIT for DPRK officials since 2025.
