(Item 6 of the agenda)64. Two papers were presented to the commission under this Agenda Item. Document APCAS/00/7 Progress Report and Future Activities for the Project GCP/RAS/171/JPN - Improvement of Agricultural Statistics in Asia and Pacific Countries and Document APCAS/00/8 Improvement of Agricultural Statistics in Indonesia with Special Reference to Paddy.
65. Through document APCAS/00/7, the commission was informed of the Project’s workplan, its accomplishments and future plans including the idea for a possible follow-up project. The major activities of the Project since its inception in 1998 included the first Focal Points Meeting in June 1999 which was held back-to-back with the Seminar on Remote Sensing for Agricultural Statistics. A statistical survey was also conducted to gather basic information on existing systems of food and agricultural statistics as well as country-specific in-depth review of the national food and agricultural statistical services in selected APCAS member countries. National Seminars on the System of Food and Agriculture Statistics in 10 of the 16 participating member countries were planned. So far, six National Seminars had already been conducted, namely: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Nepal and Viet Nam. Three more National Seminars were being planned for 2001 in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand.
66. The in-depth review and the National Seminars confirmed that (a) both centralized and decentralized statistical systems existed in the region; (b) in a few countries, food and agricultural statistical activities, were being implemented as a joint-effort between the national statistical office and the agricultural ministry; and (c) statistical organizations in some countries, specifically those in transition, were constrained by budgetary and human resource limitations.
67. The commission was pleased to note that countries in the region were already using electronic systems for data processing. It further noted that a few had already extended the use of computerized data processing systems in major provinces.
68. The concept of the data exchange system was presented to the commission. It would include provision for electronic transfer of data to and from countries in the region and FAO. Regional and national homepages would be set up and electronically linked. To the extent possible, the use of harmonized definitions and standards would be promoted through the data exchange system including a possible common Information Technology (IT) operating system. During the preparation and implementation phase of the data exchange, the follow-up project would include national capacity building and the setting up of support infrastructures to ensure the sustainability of this initiative.
69. The commission was informed that the Government of Japan was interested to receive a proposal for a follow-up project. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan had already initiated moves to prepare funding support for such a project. The commission was further informed that the donor government’s final decision would be influenced by the recommendations to be made in the planned technical consultation on this subject next year. The commission welcomed the continued support expressed by the Government of Japan to establish the data exchange system on food and agriculture statistics in the region.
70. The commission expressed support to the major recommendations made in the National Seminars, viz: (a) national statistical services should evolve an integrated national agricultural statistical programme in order to optimally utilize limited logistic and human resources, avoid duplication of activities and eliminate dissemination of conflicting statistics; and (b) the donor community should provide increased technical assistance in the field of statistics to strengthen national capability to use acceptable statistical methods for collection, processing, storage, analysis and dissemination of food and agriculture statistics.
71. The commission was informed that other international organizations, like the Economic and Social commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), were interested in seeing the success of this regional project. It was proposed that the data exchange system should extend to cover economic statistics. It supported the idea of exploring the possibility of including short term forecasting features in the system. The project was also encouraged to promote data sharing with National Statistical Offices (NSOs).
72. The commission recommended that FAO and APCAS member countries take continuing action to improve the reliability and international comparability of statistics on agriculture, forestry and fisheries for a better understanding of the changing food and agricultural situation in member countries.
73. Document APCAS/00/8 provided information on related effort of the Government of Japan in improving agricultural statistics in Indonesia. Through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), technical assistance was being provided to improve the quality of food and agricultural statistics through the Agricultural Statistics Technology Improvement and Training (ASTIT) Project.
74. The Project consisted of four parts: food crop statistics, fisheries statistics, data processing and training. The commission was informed that when Indonesia suffered food shortage in 1997, the Project was extended until 2001 with a renewed focus on making a model system for more accurate rice production statistics. The activities of the project had been concentrated in the Java Island, the country’s primary rice producing area.
75. The commission was informed that the Project had introduced sample survey methods for estimating area and yield. It noted that the farmer interview method provided initial results which were not statistically different from those coming out of actual area measurement conducted by the Project. It also noted that the simplified yield survey (rumpun counting) showed different results compared with the current survey methodology (Ubinan frame). However, more trial surveys were planned to make a decision on whether or not to adopt the new methodology.
76. The commission was pleased to be informed that the Government of Indonesia was fully committed to the project. Moreover, it was pleased to note that the activity would be made a multi-institutional effort among BPS - Statistics Indonesia, the relevant institutions under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and local government agencies with interest in food and agriculture. The Government of Indonesia expressed its wish for continued support from JICA to pursue the envisaged national implementation of the new methodology.
77. The commission expressed its interest in seeing successful completion of the project and full documentation of the successes and failures, problems and constraints encountered in the course of implementation of the area and yield surveys. This documentation would contribute to improving national efforts in the generation of more reliable production statistics.
