Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, has commended the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for embarking on agriculture census in Nigeria.
Agba gave the commendation in a keynote address he delivered virtually on Thursday, November 11, 2021 at the sensitization workshop on National Agricultural Sample Census (NASC) held in the Conference Hall of the NBS in Abuja.
He said that the exercise was essentially aimed at carrying out a comprehensive enumeration of all agricultural activities in the country, including crop production, fisheries, forestry and livestock activities.
“Conventionally, the Agriculture census is meant to be conducted every five to ten years in line with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) standards.
“However, the last round of this census, I understand was carried out in 1993/94, creating the crucial need for the current exercise.
“I therefore commend the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for putting in place the necessary arrangements to embark on this important exercise,” he stated.
The minister said that the Agricultural sector occupied a vital position in the management of the nation’s economy, stressing that it was important to know what agricultural outputs were being produced and for what purpose, the part of the country they were produced, the kinds of inputs required, the size of manpower engaged, the challenges encountered, and the potential that existed within the sector.
According to him: “These, among others, are the type of data that the NASC exercise aims at collecting. When completed, NASC will provide a statistically sound base of information for policy makers in the public and private sectors to take important decisions on boosting output and maximizing potential throughout the entire value chain.
“It will also be complemented by other statistical activities such as surveys and administrative data collection to serve as major input into the proposed Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rebasing. This underscores the significance of the NASC exercise in statistical development in Nigeria.”
He said that over the past three years, the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank and FAO had been working assiduously to come up with a comprehensive design and strategy for the conduct of the 2021/2022 Agricultural Census in Nigeria.
“To this end, a tentative workplan with clearly defined timelines has been developed, covering all aspects of the census, from the planning stage to the dissemination of results.
“In addition, a comprehensive communication strategy has been developed,” he said, adding that “for an exercise of this magnitude, where fieldworkers will be going round the nooks and crannies of the entire country, an effective communication strategy that provides robust information on the exercise must be in place.”
The minister continued: “In order to achieve the desired results in terms of good coverage and quality of responses, relevant stakeholders must be in the know and are expected to have a good understanding of the aims and objectives of the project. This is what informed the holding of this sensitization workshop.”
He explained that the enumeration included small holder farmers and large corporate farms, stressing that the small holders or subsistent farmers would be canvassed through the households, while the corporate farms would be done through the establishment process.
“The deployment of the exercise will be done in two phases, the first being the Listing Phase, while the second will be the Sample Survey Phase. Under the first phase, enumerators will visit all identified farms to collect information.
“The scope of information to be collected in this phase include demographic details of the holders, type of agricultural activity (crop production, fishery, poultry, or livestock), type of produce or product (for example: rice, maize, sorghum, chicken, or cow), and details of the contact persons.
“In the second phase, a sample of the farm holdings listed under the first phase will be taken and more detailed information collected. In addition to the information collected in the first phase, data such as size of the holding, area cultivated, total yield, type of farming practices, input, challenges, among others will be gathered. All formation retrieved will then be processed to form the final output of the census, which is expected to be launched in the latter part of 2022.
“And, in doing this, very advanced technology will be deployed to achieve the stated objectives.
“For the first time in Nigeria, the entire process will be carried out digitally. NBS is already working with the National Population Commission, NPC, to secure newly demarcated digital enumeration maps of the entire country.
“This newly carved out maps will serve as a basis for the segmentation of the areas to be visited during the conduct of the census. With these new digital maps which will be complimented by satellite imagery, the process for identifying farming areas and communities will be easier, making the segmentation process more efficient and cost effective.
“Electronic devices will be deployed in carrying out data collection and land measurement in the field. Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) devices will be deployed for the interviews with respondents, while Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Mapping devices will be used for the measurement of the plot areas.
“For the field personnel, a robust training programme has been put in place to equip them for the census. There will be two levels of training, one in Abuja, for the trainers, and another at the sub-national levels for the enumerators, each lasting four days.
“There will also be data editors working remotely at NBS Headquarters. Their role will be to check the returns from the field in real time and provide immediate feedback to the field personnel where necessary.
“As is the usual practice in any NBS data collection, adequate physical monitoring by senior level officers of NBS will take place. This will ensure enumerators are following the laid down protocols for the work and is also intended to render assistance to the field personnel to resolve any logistical or operational issues.
“All these measures as you can imagine, will go a long way in safeguarding the quality and integrity of the census.”
He said that after the sensitisation event, NBS would be carrying out a pre-test, which would be conducted in 4 States, namely Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Jigawa and Taraba, adding that the spread of the selected states and the outcome of the pre-test would further strengthen the design and arrangements put in place for the census.
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
