7th Agricultural Census Field Operation To Be Held In Sep-Oct 2024: PBS

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday said that the 7th Agriculture Census field operation will be held from July to September 2024 to collect latest data on agriculture sector for evidence-based policy planning

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2024) Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday said that the 7th Agriculture Census field operation will be held from July to September 2024 to collect latest data on agriculture sector for evidence-based policy planning.

In this regard, sixth meeting on 7th Agricultural Census was held at PBS regional office in Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with Chief Census Commissioner Dr. Naeem Uz Zafar (SI) in the chair.

Dr. Naeem Uz Zafar said that Pakistan’s economy depends upon agriculture as it has 23 percent share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and is providing employment to 37 percent of the labor force whereas the livestock share in the agriculture is 64 percent, while independently livestock is contributing 14 percent in the GDP.

He emphasized the participation and cooperation of provincial stakeholders, for successful completion of the field operation for the 7th Agricultural Census.

Member (Support Services/IT) Muhammad Sarwar Gondal (SI), DG (Admin) Dr. Amjad Javed Sandhu, senior officers of PBS, Secretary BoR AJK focal person for 7th Agricultural Census along other senior officers from AJK government also attended the meeting.

PBS while following international best practices under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) guidelines, has decided to integrate agricultural, livestock, and agricultural machinery censuses, to cover all three under 7th Agricultural Census.

Information that will be collected through Agricultural Census will be utilized for evidence-based policy making therefore, efficient and effective management of human and financial resources are crucial for the census.

PBS has established 157 Agricultural Census Support Centers for seamless execution and management of field operations throughout the country.

Provincial Stakeholders including board of Revenue, Agricultural (Extension), Livestock, AJK, Muzaffarabad Bureau of Statistics, Crop Reporting Services and education departments will support Field Operation, Supervision and Monitoring. Budget of Rs. 650 million has been released for the census.

The census will provide benchmark data for policy planning to fulfill the food and fiber needs of more than 241 million populace of the country. For broader involvement and wider acceptability, PBS has initiated engagements with partner organizations and provincial stakeholders.

The participation of stakeholders would help in forming diverse perspectives, identifying needs, and addressing the shortcomings and potential issues for provision of reliable data in agriculture as per requirements during the field operation.

Member (Support Services/IT) Muhammad Sarwar Gondal (SI) apprised the forum regarding methodology, field operation plan, media strategy, and budget requirements. He informed that PBS is using newly developed sampling design, that is also vetted by UNFAO.

He informed that the census will be the Integrated Digital exercise in the field of agriculture for data collection in Pakistan through optimum utilization of available resources in the agriculture sector.

The divisional and district census coordinators have already been deployed by PBS at each Agricultural CSC for technical guidance, facilitation, and operational management. Similarly, 157 Training Venues having facilities of multimedia, internet, sound system, laptops, printers have been shortlisted, and 34 of these facilities will operate in Balochistan.

Training will be imparted using ICT materials with interactive videos/audios by the expert trainers to ensure standardization of the census concepts. PBS has also planned for process re-engineering to enumerate the big holdings throughout the country.

The provincial stakeholders appreciated the efforts of PBS to conduct the long-awaited agricultural census after 2010.

They ensured their full cooperation for successful conduct of this national exercise which will provide information on the structure of agriculture sector including lands, crops, livestock and agricultural machinery. They acknowledge the endeavors of PBS to provide all types of information for agriculture sector in one go according to the best international practices.

APP/man