REPORT OF THE
TWENTY-SECOND SESSION OF THE ASIA AND PACIFIC
COMMISSION ON AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS
1. The Government of Malaysia generously hosted the Twenty-Second Session of the Asia and Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics (APCAS), convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia from 9 to 13 June 2008. Sixty participants consisting of 49 delegates from 14 member countries and six representatives from FAO participated in the Session. Five observers also attended, two from Malaysia and three from Afghanistan.
2. The Opening Ceremony was presided over by the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak, Malaysia, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam, who read the inaugural speech on behalf of the Rt. Honourable Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, Chief Minister of Sarawak. He expressed great pleasure to welcome all delegates to Malaysia, especially to Sarawak, the Land of the Hornbill. On behalf of the Malaysian Government, he expressed utmost gratitude to FAO for accepting Malaysia's offer to host this APCAS Session. He hoped that the Session, organised by the FAO, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities and the Department of Statistics (DOS), Malaysia, would address important aspects of agricultural statistics.
3. The Chief Minister informed that for the period 2006-2020 of the Third Malaysia Industrial Masterplan, the economy was targeted to grow 6.3 percent as the world economy would register an average GDP growth of 3.5 percent during that period. Greater focus would be given to developing the agriculture sector, particularly in the areas of food supply and food security that was in line with the Third National Agriculture Policy 1998-2010. These policies were aimed to increase and strengthen agricultural production, exports, agro-based processing activities, market and global networking, and improve the delivery service system to ultimately elevate the income levels of farmers.
4. He recognized that a strong statistical system was fundamental for the formulation of macro-economic policies for now and the future. He also pointed out that the statistical indicators helped in the comparative analysis of the Malaysian economy vis-à-vis other economies of the world. He added that the Ministries involved and the DOS were in the process of developing a comprehensive database for agricultural statistics for the benefit of policy makers and other users. Advances in computing technology and information systems had facilitated storage and dissemination of information.
5. He explained that the compilation of comprehensive up-to-date agricultural statistics warranted priority attention in the light of current global issues on the increase of food prices and other challenges in food supply. The Chief Minister encouraged the delegates to actively participate in discussions and bring about improvements and innovations in the management of national agricultural statistical systems. Finally, he wished participants a pleasant stay in Sarawak and hoped that everyone would keep fond memories of Malaysia. The Deputy Chief Minister concluded the inaugural speech by declaring the Twenty-Second Session of APCAS open.
6. Mr Jairo Castano, APCAS Secretary, read the opening statement of the FAO Assistant Director-General (ADG) and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, Mr He Changchui. The ADG welcomed the participants to this Session of APCAS on behalf of the Director-General of FAO and on his personal behalf. He expressed gratitude to the Government of Malaysia for hosting this Session in the enchanting State of Sarawak and for providing excellent facilities for fruitful and productive discussions. He noted that Malaysia had hosted the fifth session of APCAS in Kuala Lumpur in 1974. He also thanked member countries for their favourable response to FAO's invitation to this Session.
7. Mr He recalled FAO's main mandate to combat hunger and monitor progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He noted that despite the rapid transformation of economies, the Asia-Pacific region still accounted for more than 60 percent of the world's undernourished population due to its large population and relatively low per capita incomes when compared with other regions. He added that the recent soaring food prices might exacerbate the issue by pushing a large number of people back to poverty.
8. Mr He noted that several relevant and interesting issues from technical to policy matters were slated for the Session. One such matter was the presentation of the final report of the Japan-assisted project Regional Data Exchange System (RDES). He added that the "Compendium of Country Reports on Metadata for National Agricultural Statistics", prepared in collaboration with the RDES project, would also be presented.
9. Mr He made special mention of a sourcebook on indicators for agricultural and rural development recently prepared by FAO in collaboration with the World Bank. The sourcebook provided guidance on how to build the capacity needed for effective monitoring and evaluation of the achievement of development results, including those embodied in the MDGs. He hoped that the Commission would gain fruitful insights from this sourcebook and the results of the validation of its methodology in Cambodia.
10. Mr He referred to the issue on which agency should be responsible for agricultural statistics in countries: the National Statistics Office or the Ministry of Agriculture? This provocative topic would be considered in a roundtable discussion during the week. Another roundtable would discuss the role of statisticians in supporting decision-making in the context of rising food prices.
11. Mr He made reference to other topics such as the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2010, the Food Balance Sheets, Gender Statistics and CountrySTAT. He urged participants to exchange frankly their experiences and make recommendations to help orient FAO's future activities in statistics.
12. The Honourable Chief Statistician, Malaysia, Ms Wan Ramlah Wan Abdul Raof, welcomed the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister and thanked him for delivering the opening address on behalf of the Honourable Chief Minister and officiating the Opening Session. She extended, on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, a warm Selamat Datang-Welcome to all the delegates and guests of the Session. She added that it was an honour for the DOS and the Government of Malaysia to host this Session 34 years after Malaysia hosted the Fifth Session in 1974. She also expressed her gratitude to FAO for the support and commitment to make this event a reality.
13. She observed that this biennial event was providing strong support for the development of agricultural statistics in the Asia and Pacific Region. She also noted that in its 45 years of existence, the Commission, as a platform for sharing country initiatives, was responsible for setting the directions for further development of statistical systems. This assisted FAO in designing new programme initiatives and setting priorities in the development of agricultural statistics.
14. She noted that this meeting was a useful avenue to review the development in agricultural statistics by facilitating the sharing of ideas on the state of food and agricultural statistics in the region among member countries and experts from FAO and other organizations. She informed that in the case of Malaysia, the Ninth Malaysia Plan had set a shift in the priorities for the agriculture sector with the development of new programmes that would enable agriculture to grow at 7.6 percent by 2010. The Plan envisaged the development of the agriculture sector as the new source of growth for the economy and a tool for eradicating poverty.
15. She informed that the Ministry and DOS had allocated resources to conduct surveys and censuses in 2005. This included an agricultural census that covered all agricultural households in Malaysia. In addition, DOS established in 2007 the Agriculture and Agro-Based Statistics Division to improve the methodology of data collection and consultations with stakeholders and users of agricultural statistics. She further added that the alarming global threats - shortage of food and price volatility - repositioned agricultural statistics as a crucial tool for planning and policy formulation in Malaysia.
16. In concluding, she conveyed special thanks to FAO for the technical assistance during the 2005 agricultural census. She assured the Commission of Malaysia's participation in the 2010 round of WCA. She recognized the important role that the WCA would play in monitoring of the MDGs. She also noted that the modernization and user-friendliness of FAOSTAT was a big help to policy makers and planners. Finally, she expressed sincere appreciation to all for the support and commitment given to make the meeting a success and wished that the efforts be blessed. She also wished participants a productive Session and a pleasant and memorable stay in Kuching, Sarawak.
17. The outgoing chair, Ms Jirawan Boonperm, Deputy Secretary General, National Statistical Office, Thailand, presided over the election of the Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and Drafting Committee. Before opening the floor for nominations, Ms Boonperm expressed her great pleasure to be given the opportunity to chair the Twenty-First Session in 2006 in Phuket, Thailand. She was pleased that APCAS was continuing to provide strong support for the development of agricultural statistics in the region. She cited the development and strengthening of the database function of the CountrySTAT as core software of RDES, and the creation of the APCAS website as manifestations of positive contribution of APCAS.
18. Mr Ismail Yusoff, Deputy Chief Statistician, Malaysia and Head of the Malaysian delegation was unanimously elected Chair of the Twenty-Second Session. Mr Pham Quang Vinh, Director, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Statistics, General Statistics Office, Viet Nam was elected First Vice-Chair and Ms Meas Sotheavy, Chief, Statistics Office, Department of Planning Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia, Second Vice-Chair.
19. The Commission constituted a Drafting Committee. Mr Romeo Recide (Philippines) was elected Chair. Messrs Dhrijesh Kumar Tiwari (India), Abang Saifulhadi Abang Hj Ibrahim (Malaysia), Mukesh Srivastava (FAO), Jairo Castano (APCAS Secretary) and Generoso de Guzman (Consultant, FAO) were co-opted as members of the Committee.
20. The Session adopted the agenda given in Appendix A. The list of delegates and observers is given in Appendix B and the list of documents is in Appendix C. The speeches delivered in the Opening Session are given in Appendices D, E and F. The list of member countries of the Commission, as of June 2008, is cited in Appendix G.
