STATUS IN THE REGION AND EMERGING ISSUES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FAO PROGRAMME FOR THE WORLD CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE 2000

(Item 8 of the agenda)

93. The commission was pleased to note that except for Cambodia, all APCAS member countries had participated in at least one round of the Programme for the World Census of Agriculture. Many countries had been conducting decennial or quinquennial censuses since the 1960 round. It further appreciated the information that FAO had now stored the results of the agriculture census in 26 of the 33 countries in the region. These data sets could provide a wealth of information for intra-and inter-country analysis of the food and agricultural situation in the region.

94. The commission noted that the first of the five round-table meetings to consider recent trends in agricultural censuses was held in Bangkok from 8 to 12 December 1997. In the Bangkok meeting, the census elements were grouped under eight major headings as follows: (a) census legislation and committees; census budget and workplan; (b) census scope and coverage; (c) census frames and sampling; survey designs; (d) questionnaire design, instruction manuals and tabulation plans; (e) publicity; (f) training and field work; (g) quality control and post enumeration survey; and (h) data processing, analysis and dissemination.

95. The commission was informed that many countries reported that the organization of the census was backed up by adequate legislation - either specific for the census or a law authorizing a statistical agency to gather a wide-range of information through a census or survey. It was further informed that in almost every country, a census committee or a census steering committee was organized to oversee the planning and conduct of the census.

96. The commission noted that while census items were usually limited to gathering structural type of information, some countries collected additional information deemed important for national use. It also noted that census coverage, as well as methodologies, varied amongst countries on account primarily of limitations imposed by resources - budgetary and human. In view of the high costs needed to conduct a complete census enumeration, many countries were now shifting to sample enumeration or a combination of complete enumeration for large holdings and sample enumeration for the rest of agricultural holdings.

97. The importance of synchronizing the preparation of the tabulation plans with the questionnaire and data processing designs was stressed. It was also further emphasized that the availability of good field operation manuals complemented by a strong training programme would significantly help in reducing non-sampling errors and improve quality of census results. The commission was further informed that some countries in the region had started to test the use of either an Optical Character Recognition (OCR)-compatible questionnaire format or hand-held computer for data capture to facilitate data processing and reduce overall costs of census operation. Moreover, the availability of commercial computer packages was contributing to reducing data processing time although some countries were still opting to develop custom-made programmes. In addition, a good publicity programme, was a key ingredient to a successful census operation. Moreover, a post-enumeration survey (PES) should be made an integral component of a good census programme in order to have a mechanism for evaluating the quality of census data.

98. The commission underscored the importance of establishing national capacity to increase the utilization of census results through extensive analysis, geo-referencing for small area analysis and GIS, and adoption of new modalities for dissemination such as the use of internet, CD-Rom or other similar electronic media.

99. The commission noted with interest the discussions on four major emerging issues in the implementation of the Programme for the World Census of Agriculture 2000 (WCA 2000), viz: (a) the need for an integrated system of national statistics; (b) sample versus complete enumeration; (c) new developments in data collection, processing and dissemination; and (d) structural aquaculture statistics.

100. The commission concurred with the observation that in many developing countries in the region, the statistical organizations had remained weak on account of inadequacies in the number of sufficient trained statistical personnel and the logistic resources for carrying out a comprehensive and integrated programme of statistical activities for the food and agriculture sector. Moreover, only a few countries had developed functional comprehensive national statistical programmes. In many cases, statistical development was slow and censuses, surveys and other statistical inquiries were often undertaken in isolation from each other.

101. Complete enumeration would always be a desirable approach to carry out an agricultural census. However, with resource limitations, many countries were now carrying out a sample census or structural survey. A few countries were opting for a two-stage exercise. A limited number of items were being gathered on a complete enumeration basis followed by one or more sample surveys for specific areas of concern.

102. The commission noted that emerging technological developments were proving useful to further improve overall census operations. Developments in hand-held computers and the geo-referencing of data at source using Global Positioning System (GPS) could contribute to improvements in field enumeration operations as hand-held GPS equipment, for example, could serve as a more precise alternative for area measurement to the current tape measure and compass approach. Traditional modalities for data transmission from the field to the central office would soon be replaced with electronic data transfer facilities as Internet services become more widely available. Simultaneous training and workshop would also become feasible through video conferencing leading to improved implementation of field enquiries as uniform interpretation of instructions would be enhanced. Speed in data processing could also be expected to improve with the use of hand-held computers and/or the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology as now being used in some countries. The new technological innovations would also revolutionize data analysis and dissemination. The new analytical tools would facilitate small area analysis lending more value to the utility of census data. Moreover, the Internet and other electronic dissemination media were now providing cheap and convenient additions to the traditional hard copy releases of census results and reports.

103. The inclusion of thematic supplements to the Programme for the WCA 2000 such as the Guidelines on the Collection of Structural Aquaculture Statistics stimulated national statisticians to explore further the mechanisms for including aquaculture questions on structure or strengthen the questions already planned within the WCA 2000 programme or other censuses such as population census to obtain a frame for detailed aquaculture surveys.

104. The National Bureau of Statistics, People’s Republic of China contributed and presented document APCAS/00/11 International Seminar on China Agricultural Census Results: Use of Data. The paper provided information on the International Seminar on China Agricultural Census Results held in Beijing from 19 to 22 September 2000.

105. The commission was informed that the first national census of agriculture in China was undertaken in January 1997. It aimed to: (a) provide the most important basic data for all levels of governments to study the development of productivity in rural areas, to formulate a long-term rural development strategy and to guide rural economic development; (b) provide a frame for rural sample surveys; and (c) lay a foundation for setting up a new rural statistical survey system, which suits the rural reality, meets the demands for national economic accounts and matches the international practices.

106. The census covered 214 million rural households, 350 thousand non-household agricultural holdings, 740 thousand administrative villages, 43 thousand towns and townships and 1.40 million non-agricultural town and township enterprises. The questionnaire contained 38 items and 687 indicators on agriculture. The data accumulated in the process required 210 gigabytes (GB) of computer storage space. In order to verify the quality of the census data a post enumeration survey was conducted covering 40 577 rural households. Moreover, the commission was informed that in order to facilitate data processing, OCR readable questionnaires were used. Some 6 million enumerators took part in the census.

107. Results of the census were disseminated in various media form: Database on Internet and CD-ROMs, printed publications, workshops, press releases and conferences. Sub-national reports were also prepared at various administrative levels. The commission also noted the preparation of a 1% sample database to facilitate data analysis.

108. An International Seminar on China Agricultural Census Results was organized in Beijing in September 2000. Representatives from UN and International Organizations as well as delegates from Italy, United States of America, Republic of Korea and other countries participated in the Seminar. The Seminar comprised twelve sessions in three broad subject matter areas: (a) agricultural census organization, data quality and main results; (b) new picture of China’s agricultural sector: comparisons of pre-census and post-census views; and (c) use of agricultural census data to improve the system of current statistics in China.

109. The “Agriculture Census Organization, Data Quality and Main Results” covered discussions on: census organization, data processing, access and dissemination and highlights of the main results; also data quality and the reconciliation of census results with current estimates. The second subject on “New Picture of China’s Agricultural Sector: Comparison of Pre-census and Post-census Views” included: China’s agriculture in the world economy; the new picture of the rural/agricultural situation in China; production factors in the agricultural sector: employment, land use, and factor ratios; regional disparities and migration issues; structure of rural non-agricultural industries; role of women in Chinese agriculture; international comparability and the use of the census data for national accounts; and use of census data for monitoring and evaluating food security. Finally, the third subject “Use of Agricultural Census Data to Improve the System of Current Statistics in China” covered: improvement of survey designs by using the agricultural census; and improving the system of current statistics in China by using the census results: data collection and analysis issues. A total of 42 analytical papers were prepared by national and international experts and presented at the Seminar. Additional contributed papers were presented at a poster session.

110. The commission congratulated China for the successful conduct of its first census of agriculture in record time and appreciated the organization of the International Seminar in order to demonstrate the diverse areas where census data could be used.