(Item 4 of the Agenda)
26. The Secretary of the Commission introduced Document No. APCAS/98/3 on “FAO’s Activities in Food and Agricultural Statistics During 1996-98 in the Asia and Pacific Region”. The Commission appreciated the FAO’s efforts in this field during the last two years.
27. The Commission noted that the FAO’s main activities were in the following areas: maintenance of data base and information dissemination; food insecurity and vulnerability information and mapping systems; World Census of Agriculture; cooperation on the improvement of agricultural statistics in the Region; forestry and fishery statistics; system of economic accounts for agriculture; technical assistance; and serving as Secretariat of the Commission.
28. The Commission recognized FAO’s continuing efforts to improve and expand the mechanisms for disseminating information. It particularly noted the user-friendliness of the internet-based WAICENT, specifically its FAOSTAT component. The Commission observed that FAOSTAT contained mostly historical data. It also indicated that in a number of instances, country-specific statistics in the FAO website and publications were not consistent with the member countries’ official statistics. The Commission was informed that in general, statistics released by FAO were those provided by member countries. In a few instances, FAO made its own estimates and these were properly footnoted. The Commission was further informed that statistics used by FAO in its publications like the yearbooks were as of fixed cut-off dates. Revisions made after the cut-off dates may be accessed on the website.
29. While the Commission acknowledged that some forecasts were included in the FAOINFO component of WAICENT, especially the Food Outlook, it stressed the need for FAO to provide more forward-looking types of information, such as crop forecasts and early warning information. The Commission recommended that more forecasts of crop production at country level be incorporated in the FAO data base. It also recommended that FAO improve the user-friendliness of its website in the area of accessing country level forecasts and early warning information through the establishment of hyperlinkages between FAO’s and individual countries’ forecast webpages. The Commission further recommended that countries with existing websites should create a separate forecast webpage to help FAO operationalize such hyperlink.
30. The Commission recognized FAO’s lead role in the establishment of the global Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information System (FIVIMS). It appreciated the Government of Japan’s support to the five-year Programme “Development of a Vulnerability Information Base, Mapping and Dissemination System for Asia in Support of the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System (FIVIMS)”. It noted that FIVIMS constituted a major programme for FAO, both at global and national levels.
31. The Commission commended the FAO/RAP and the Government of Japan for their fast action on the recommendation the Commission made at its Sixteenth Session regarding the project on the improvement of agricultural statistics in its developing member countries. This led to the immediate project formulation and subsequent implementation.
32. The Commission was pleased to be informed that the aquaculture and employment supplements to the Programme for the World Census of Agriculture 2000 had already been issued.
33. The Commission commended FAO for its sustained efforts to organize training, workshops and expert consultations. The National Demonstration Centre on Agricultural Census held in the Philippines was a training programme for member countries with limited experience in conducting agricultural censuses. The Round Table Meeting on Trends in Agricultural Censuses in Bangkok, on the other hand, provided an appropriate forum for exchange of experiences among countries in the Region that had undertaken a number of agricultural censuses. The organization of the Expert Consultation and Regional Workshop on the Development of Guidelines for the Routine Collection of Capture Fisheries Data in Bangkok were likewise appreciated by the Commission.
34. The Commission, meanwhile, was looking forward to the successful conduct of the joint SIAP/FAO Workshop on System of Economic Accounts for Agriculture scheduled in China at the end of November 1998. It supported FAO’s plan to organize a Seminar on Use of Remote Sensing in Agricultural Statistics, in early 1999.
35. The Commission noted with appreciation the technical assistance provided to a number of countries, including projects that were successfully completed, on-going, or in the pipeline. It appreciated FAO’s continuing concern to help countries in the region improve and/or develop their national agricultural statistical services. The Commission was pleased to note that FAO had maintained its close cooperation with UN and international organizations involved in food and agricultural statistics in the Asia and Pacific region. The Commission noted that areas for future assistance included livestock statistics, agricultural census and economic accounts for food and agriculture. It recommended that FAO take appropriate measures to provide support in these areas, in cooperation with the donor community
36. The Commission expressed satisfaction that its biennial Sessions had been convened as scheduled. It also appreciated the interest and support of member countries in the activities of the Commission.
