Page 100 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 1

STS407 Minerva Eloisa P. E. et al.

The Philippine Census of Agriculture and
Fisheries as part of the integrated agricultural
statistical system
Minerva Eloisa P. Esquivias, Erma A. Aquino, Joyce Anne Marie M. Ruiz
Philippine Statistics Authority, Quezon City, Philippines

Abstract
Statistics have been increasingly recognized as a key element in crafting,
monitoring and evaluating a country's development policies and programs.
With the constant changes in global and local economy, greater demands for
more responsive and relevant statistics are inevitable for all sectors. For one,
the agriculture sector is important for food security, thus, a good national
agricultural statistical system is imperative in all countries. This presentation
will describe the census of agriculture as part of the integrated agricultural
statistical system of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It aims to present
the advantages of the integrated system in terms of cost and operational
efficiency, as well as the issues and challenges that may arise.
As mandated by the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013, the PSA conducts
census, surveys and other statistical activities to generate official statistics on
agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, including national accounts. The Census
of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF), which can provide information on the
structure and characteristics of agricultural farms, aquaculture farms and
fishery operations at the lowest geographical level, is considered as one of the
key pillars of a national statistical system by the Food and Agriculture
Organization. CAF can also cater to data needs related to the Sustainable
Development Goals and Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural
Statistics and to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 and the
Ambisyon Natin 2040 in particular.
Consistent with the 2020 World Programme for the Census of Agriculture
(WCA), the Philippines’ CAF is a vital source of core data, and sample frame for
the more frequent and more in-depth agriculture, aquaculture and fishery
surveys of PSA. These surveys include Palay and Corn Production Survey,
Backyard Livestock and Poultry Survey, Commercial Livestock and Poultry
Survey, and Aquaculture Production Survey, among others. CAF addresses
demand for indicators resulting from emerging developmental concerns and
climate change as outlined in the Philippine Statistical Development Program
2018-2023, which was formulated under the direction of the Inter-Agency
Committee on Agriculture and Fishery Statistics. To complement data from
census and surveys, the PSA gathers administrative information from data
producing agencies in the agriculture and fishery sectors through linkages and
close coordination. Given the decennial conduct of the census, the PSA

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