Permanent Secretaries
Members - 2020 Fiji Agriculture Census NSC
Partners
Stakeholders
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen.
 
Bula and Welcome to the Ministry of Agriculture.
First, I would like to sincerely thank you and your team, and please convey my personal appreciation to my colleague, your Honourable Ministers for your continuous support to the Ministry of Agriculture and all your collaborative efforts in ensuring that we prepare well and are ready to undertake the 2020 Fiji Agriculture Census.
 
Our coordinated effort to pursue this initiative clearly indicates how much we value and acknowledge timely and quality Statistics as one of the significant component of our activities especially in planning for development and policy formulation.

I’m honoured and delighted this evening as we approach the eve of the 2020 Agriculture Census Data collection period, to deliver my statement through media, and I hope it will guide and boost the confidence of our officers who are preparing to go out to the field from the 10^th to the 29^th of FEB to collect data for this Census Exercise.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Agriculture [Crop, Livestock, Fisheries & Forest] Census is no doubt one of the significant data collection exercise undertaken throughout the world especially in developing countries where farming activities is key to sustainable livelihood. It collates important agricultural information that will ensure better planning and formulation of appropriate strategies for the sector. It also allows government to analyse and measure impact of its intervention across time.

Ladies and Gentlemen
Policy makers at the national and international level and those developing investment strategies to enhance economic development, face many challenges with the changing face of agriculture in the 21st century.
While agriculture is the primary source to feed, clothe, and provide materials for fuel and housing for a growing world population, the challenge is at the same time to lift millions of people out of poverty and hunger, reduce the impact of agriculture on environment and global warming, and sustain water and land resources. These are issues that go beyond national boundaries. Improvement of Agriculture Statistics initiative provide the vision for national and international statistical systems to produce the basic data and information to guide decision making required for the 21st century.

Allow me to briefly share with you an overview of the 2020 Fiji Agriculture Census.

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• As most of us present here today might be aware, the Census of Agriculture is conducted every 10 years and Fiji have previously undertaken four [4] Censuses – 1968, 1978, 1991 and 2009. The upcoming census will be the 5^th in that series. All four previous census that I’ve just highlighted were conducted on a sample basis and this time around I’m glad to inform that it will be a full coverage of the Rural Area, part of peri-urban area and selected urban villages.
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• Government through a Cabinet Approval allow for the implementation of the 2020 Agriculture Census with the total budget of FJ$4.5m on 17^th May 2019.
• This approval spearhead the preparation for the 2020 Agriculture Census with the aim of successfully achieving its immediate objectives :
  • Establish baseline data base on the structure of Fiji’s Agriculture Sector and provide a frame for future Agriculture Census and Surveys.
  • Improve Fiji’s Agriculture and rural Statistics system capacity to generate quality agriculture data
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  • Provide timely and quality evidence for planning and policy decision making for the sector
  • Enable monitoring of progress of the sector towards the Sustainable Development Goals [SDG]
• The 2020 Fiji Agriculture Census is an integrated Census of all four [4] Agriculture Sub-sectors – Crop [including growing of Sugar Cane, Livestock, Fisheries and Forest and this platform guide the formation of the National Steering Committee whose members are made up of Executive Officers of Ministries that administer these sub sectors - Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Sugar. Also part of the NSC are close stakeholders such as Ministry of Rural Maritime, Ministry of Economy, Fiji Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Women, Ministry of I - Taukei Affairs and Ministry of Health.
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• Technical officers from all these Ministries and Stakeholders were members of the Technical Working Group that design the Census Questionnaire and methodology for the 2020 FAC.

 
 Through ongoing discussions, consultations and preparation, I’m grateful and sincerely appreciate the technical assistance and expert guidance of the United Nation Food and Agriculture Organisation [FAO] who have been our partner in the organisation and implementation of this very important Exercise.

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• It is exciting to note that, this will be the first, for officers engaged to collect data through the use of Computer- Assisted Personal Interviewing system on tablets and I would like to personally thank our National Statistics Office – FBoS for the continuous support and provision of 700 tablets to be used by our Enumerators.
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• The adoption of this new technology in Agriculture Census will substantially improve the quality and transparency of data collected, shorten the time for data processing and quickly disseminate results for Census data users.
• Across the world, some countries are leading this global trend, and Fiji is now joining them. I am sure we are all very proud to be part of this revolutionary move. The Fiji Bureau of Statistics adopted this tool in the conduct of the 2017 Population and Housing Census and the Agriculture Statistics System is just as excited to be part of that change.

Ladies and Gentlemen
 Let me assure you that designing of Questionnaire for 2020 Census underwent continuous consultations and series of activities to ensure that we formulate the perfect questions that will enable us to achieve the objective of the Census and improve our Agriculture Statistical Data Base :

• Reference document – 2009 Census Questionnaire, 2017 Population and Housing Census, World Agriculture Census Guideline
• Meeting with line Ministries to identify their data needs

• Numerous Technical working group meetings
• Questionnaire test with Ministry staff
• Questionnaire Field Pre Tests
• Consultations  with our local Professors from FNU and USP
• Pilot Census 4^th-8^th Nov 2019
• Final Amendment before Census Personnel Training

Ladies and Gentlemen
I also want to highlight today, that this will be the first Agriculture Census whereby the Ministry will be engaging officers from outside of government as Enumerators. There will be a total of 430 Enumerators who will be deployed to collect data.

These Enumerators will be assisted by 121 Field Supervisors and 110 Area Coordinators who are existing officers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forests, Rural Maritime and i-Taukei Affairs. 
All Field Operation will be coordinated from Census Centres that have been set up across the Regions and I want to highlight that this infrastructure set up will ensure establishment and improvement of connectivity among our offices that will enable efficient and effective deliverables of our activities after the Census.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen
Government through the Ministry of Agriculture/Fisheries and Forests can only improve and change its current agricultural services, create new agriculture programs for farming assistance that best suits farmers need, provide specific agriculture technical advice, and reach out to  farms, if there is quality information available. I’m hoping that data captured through this Census will provide that much needed Statistics which will enhance development of Fiji’s Primary Sector. Collectively, it will be ‘Our Voice that determine the future of Fiji’s Agriculture Sector’.

Let me conclude by encouraging all of us , to take ownership of the 2020 Fiji Agriculture Census, and work together to produce better results and continue to pursue the improvement our Agriculture Statistics System to ensure that all necessary needed information are recorded on time and ‘No one is left behind’. I am calling upon all farmers to assist us in providing correct responses and data to the enumerators who will visit you over the period 10^th to 29^th February (nest week) so that we can better understand the Agricultural sector for policy formulation. To our officers who will be out in the field for the Data Collection Exercise, Fiji Agriculture Sector needs your total commitment and diligence and remember that good coverage ensures quality data.
 
Thank you, Dhanyavad and Vinaka Vakalevu.