Page 84 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 1

STS407 Jairo C. et al.
data, critical gaps on data production still remain in many countries. This is
partially due to lack of adequate coordination of data collection operations
and mapping of these operations with country data needs. To meet these data
needs and fill-in the information gaps in a cost-efficient way, an integrated
agricultural statistics system is of crucial importance. Such a system involves a
multi year programme of agricultural surveys articulated with the agricultural
census.
In this integrated system, on one hand, structural agricultural data, such as
size of holdings, land use, crop areas, livestock numbers and agricultural inputs
are collected at the lowest geographical level through censuses of agriculture
(every five or ten years). The AC is the backbone of the agricultural statistics
system and has the widest (usually complete) coverage of agricultural
holdings. The AC gives a snapshot of the structure of the agricultural sector in
a country and, when compared with previous censuses, provides an
opportunity to identify trends and structural transformations of the sector, and
points towards areas for policy intervention. Census data are used as a
benchmark for current statistics and their value is increased when they are
employed together with other data sources. Data producers rely on the census
to update the frame for current agricultural sample surveys (FAO, 2015).
On the other hand, data such as crop and livestock production, food
consumption, cost of production, production prices and production methods
are collected through regular sample surveys and/or administrative reporting
systems to provide in-depth, more frequent and timely agricultural statistics.
The current statistics are needed to monitor ongoing agricultural and food
supply conditions and to support decision-making in the short term.

2. Regularity of the agricultural census
According to the WCA recommendations (FAO, 2015), a country should
conduct an AC at least once every ten years, providing key structural items (23
essential items) and frame items for intercensal sample surveys. Although
country participation in the census rounds has increased steadily since the
1990s until the 2010s (90 countries and territories in the 1990 census round),
the number of countries that conducted an AC in the 2010 round (2006-2015)
was relatively small. In fact, 128 countries and territories conducted an AC in
the 2010 round, compared to 214 that conducted a population and housing
census (PHC) in the same period (see Table 1).

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