Statistics agency to conduct agriculture census

WINDHOEK – The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) is preparing to carry out a new national census of the agricultural sector.

The last agricultural census was done more than 10 years ago, rendering meaningless the data currently in use. Director of Economics Statistics, Ndamona Kali, says the pilot survey was carried out in February/March this year and the census is expected to start in the months between February and March 2014. The census would be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has provided the money required to conduct the census.

The UN agency also provided the technical expertise for the 1994/1995 agricultural census. The technical expertise included valuable advice on data collection, methods and designing of questionnaires, and manual and other survey instruments.

FAO provided N$4.3 million in a form of a grant for the new census. The funds will be used to pay for the service of experts, and for the training and procurement of needed equipment for the census that is expected to take six months to complete.

“NSA is committed to ensure a successful outcome of this agriculture census project, fully cognizant of the fact that agriculture plays a crucial role in the life of the Namibian economy. Agriculture not only provides food and raw materials to industries, but also employment opportunities to a very large proportion of the population. In fact, according to the latest labour force survey, this sector still provides the majority of employment opportunities to our citizens,” said NSA Statistician General Dr John Steytler.

FAO and NSA signed the funding agreement this week at NSA offices in Windhoek. Admir Bay, the FAO country representative indicated that besides the grant, FAO would also be bringing in international experts to ensure adherence with international standards.

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