(Item 7 of the Agenda)
77. Mr Montol Jeamchareon facilitated the roundtable discussion. Four background presentations were made to start the discussion. The first presentation was made by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Malaysia, which played a lead role in promoting and marketing agricultural products. FAMA was also engaged in supply chain management and collection of market related information. It also carried out analyses for matching supply and demand, which included assessments of different demand segments, e.g., for export, direct consumption in domestic market, industrial processing and contractual demand. Although the price was considered the most powerful variable, the information on demand was also judged as supplementary to price monitoring. The Commission noted that the application of state-of-the-art information and communication technologies in capturing and disseminating information played a major role in market observation.
78. The APCAS Secretary presented to the Commission FAO's response to the current phenomenon of rising food prices in Asia and the Pacific. The presentation reviewed the trends in food prices and related policy responses by the countries of the region. A brainstorming session held in Bangkok had concluded that there was no food crisis in the region, but rather just a stressful price situation. FAO's initiatives to boost production in the short term and to increase dissemination of market intelligence on current developments were described.
79. Mr Hiek Som informed the Commission of the purpose and outcome of the High Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenge of Climate Change and Bio-energy, held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 3 to 5 June 2008.
80. Mr Montol Jeamchareon, informed the Commission that several confluencing factors were contributing to soaring food prices. These included climate change, increased income of middle and upper income households, pressures brought about by the search for bio-energy and high population growth.
81. The Commission was informed that there was a need to revisit conventional approaches to both data collection methods and types of information collected. This was needed to keep information systems attuned to data needs for early warning signals of price and market fluctuations, in order to set up mitigating measures against negative impacts of rising prices. However, it was noted that the success of the system would depend upon the willingness of stakeholders to share information.
82. The Commission heard the views of participants on the role of statisticians in assisting policy makers formulate timely corrective measures when confronted with food market crises. The Commission recommended that statisticians: (a) provide not only a description of price quotations and trends, but also analysis of factors contributing to changes in prices; (b) monitor the quantities of agricultural commodities traded and the prices prevailing in national, regional and global spot and futures markets; (c) be cautious in their choice of sources of information to preclude releasing biased or unreliable information; and (d) resolve conceptual issues relating to the collection of prices, e.g., difference in wholesale prices and producers prices, and those relating to specification of items for price collection.
83. The Commission noted that when faced with new demands for data, the statisticians should give due consideration to the required human and financial resources to be able to meet the demand. The Commission likewise observed that, generally, the demand for additional resources for collecting additional data for crisis management received favourable response from the government.
(Item 8 of the Agenda)
84. Mr Romeo Recide facilitated the roundtable discussion. To start the discussion, Mr Generoso de Guzman presented a background paper on the national statistical systems in the region. He outlined the various frameworks for the development of the national statistical systems which included the country's constitution, statistics law, development plan and statistical development plan, as well as data frameworks developed by the UN and other international organizations. The nature of the development of the agricultural statistical service, in particular, would depend on the country's agricultural sector development plan and statistical frameworks such as the SEAFA, FBS, FIVIMS and FAOSTAT.
85. Agricultural statistics could be generated from agricultural censuses and surveys, market information systems, extension workers' periodic reports, crop monitoring systems and administrative records. The statistical systems for collection and dissemination of agricultural statistics could either be centralized or decentralized. The paper inter alia enumerated basic advantages and disadvantages of centralized and decentralized systems.
86. A centralized system could have comparative advantages in terms of economies of scale, credibility, objectivity and independence, use of uniform standards and harmonized concepts, provision of one-stop-shop for data users and establishment of national data archives to facilitate easy access and production of special-purpose statistics on demand. On the other hand, in a decentralized system the statisticians worked more closely with data users and acquired intimate knowledge of data domains and hence tended to be more responsive to the needs of the users. The administrative records became accessible for statistical users and hence their potentials more fully utilized.
87. The Commission invited the participants to outline their national statistical systems and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses keeping in view the framework of merit and demerits highlighted in the paper. The delegates also apprised the Commission of the efforts being made to improve the effectiveness of their agricultural statistical systems.
88. The Commission noted the conclusions of the roundtable. First, there was no unique model or system of agricultural statistics which would be suitable to all countries. An appropriate model for each country would need to be decided keeping in view its geo-political, administrative and legal structure. Available financial and human resources would critically influence the choice of suitable statistical system for the country. Second, in order to win the confidence of respondents, particularly in surveys involving sensitive data, it would be desirable that the survey was carried out under the auspices of a neutral agency, e.g., the National Statistics Office of the country. Third, the credibility of the statistics would improve if these were produced by a neutral agency.
89. The Commission recommended the countries to prepare a Medium-term Statistical Development Plan, which could include a system of designated agencies for different types of statistics and a calendar of release of statistics. The Plan would also specify the frequency, level of disaggregation and method to be employed for compilation of statistics.
90. The Commission recommended that the countries, which have a decentralized system for collection of agriculture statistics, introduce a strong coordinating mechanism among different agencies playing a role in the system or using its products. Such coordination could be achieved through the establishment of permanent bodies, such as a board or a commission, for laying down standards, creating a shared pool of statisticians in the civil service and designation of focal points for harmonization and cross-validation of statistics compiled by different agencies. Such mechanisms could bring in the benefits of a centralized system even to a highly decentralized system.
