National agriculture census concludes

KATHMANDU: The sixth National Agriculture Census- 2068 BS has concluded. The census was conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) as per the suggestions of the United Nations Agricultural Organisation and World Food Programme.

The objective of the programme is to collect necessary data related to the agricultural sector. The census was conducted in all the 75 districts across the country as per the international standards and prevailing traditions, said Chief of CBS, Agriculture Census Section, Ambika Basyal.

"We have planned to unveil the outcomes of the census within the next 10 months and are working accordingly," said Basyal.

Having started from 2018 BS, the agricultural census carried out in every 10 years is meant for the collection, update and distribution of data in various aspects of agriculture sector.

In the census, details about the agriculture including area of cultivatable land, sources of irrigation, utilization of land, cultivated land, production, agricultural inputs, use of non-resident buildings and ownership have been collected.

Domesticated animals and fowls, fisheries and agricultural loan will also be covered by the census. Food grains, fruits production, cash crops, and bee keeping will be included in the census.

The census was conducted in two phases. The first phase had come into effect in 59 districts of Terai and mountainous areas. Likewise, the second phase had run in 16 hilly districts. A total of 2,400 enumerators were deployed to conduct the census.

Statistics officer at the Bureau, Rajan Silwal, said that the government had allocated Rs. 136 million for the agro census and added that agriculture production, number of agricultural workers, losses in land, types of losses, production of main crops, main income source of family and access to agriculture markets were added in the census.

Similarly, farmers' access to markets, facility of transport services, time needed to take their products to highway for transport, road infrastructure, education, health, income, poverty alleviation, drinking water, fertilizers, farmers' access to financial institutions and banks, service received from them, electricity, communication and use of equipments of communication are main features of the census.

It is expected that it would help on the main goal of the government to reduce poverty and would be important to those officers who formulate rules and regulations, and conduct researchers once the census is made public. 

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