Development Constraint to be Addressed:

At the Sixteenth Session of the Asia and Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics (APCAS), held in Tokyo, Japan in October 1996, the need for accurate and timely data on food and agriculture was stressed. While member countries have made substantial improvements in their food and agricultural statistics systems, it was recognized that much more needed to be done in a relatively large number of countries. The areas which required strengthening included methodologies used and the adoption of modern techniques for data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination. Of crucial importance was the emergence of the techniques for electronic transfer of data with very reasonable costs. The financial support of the Government of Japan was requested, to support this development initiative.

Development Objective:

The development objective of the member countries of the Asia and Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics is to have a sound statistical system capable of (i) providing data and information for planning and policy making in the food and agriculture sector with the aim of raising the living standards and the nutritional status of the people, especially the rural poor, and (ii) exchanging these data with other countries to support of national, regional and global food security programmes and policies.

Immediate Objective:

1. National Statistical Development Strategies and Plans drawn up for the improvement of food and agricultural statistics and information, for implementation in participating countries.
2. Plan for the establishment of a database and equipment facilities, in a number of countries, to provide a capability to transfer data in electronic format both to and from countries in the Region, and FAO, using common concepts, standards and classifications.

Links:

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific: web

Development Constraint to be Addressed:

Many countries in the Asia and Pacific Region have developed their statistical capability on food and agricultural statistics through training and adoption of modern sampling techniques and census methods for various statistical activities. However, data analysis and dissemination are still weak especially in many developing and food deficit countries in the region. National capacity for data analysis in many countries remains below expectation. This has been identified as contributing to the failure to formulate adequate policies and plans to support sustained agricultural development, reduce the level of food insecurity and hence, find a more lasting solution to completely eradicate poverty. Agricultural survey programmes, where they exist, are often confined to gathering production statistics for major crops. Crop forecasts and statistics on consumption, cost of production, stocks and flow, capital formation, nutrition and socio-economic profiles are seldom available on a regular basis. Moreover, in addition to difficulty in accessing timely data, lack of good documentation of national practices with respect to methodology, concepts and definitions for many statistics make it difficult for international data users to determine the quality and comparability of food and agricultural statistics.

This project will build upon the initiatives of its predecessor "Improvement of Agricultural Statistics in Asia and Pacific Countries" (GCP/RAS/171/JPN) and will pursue the pilot implementation of an electronic-based regional data exchange system. In particular, the project will support and focus on strengthening the capacity of countries that lag behind in adopting state-of-the-art techniques for data analysis and electronic dissemination of food and agricultural statistics.

Development Objective:

The development objective of the member countries of the Asia and Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics is to have a sound statistical system capable of (i) providing data and information for planning and policy making in the food and agriculture sector with the aim of raising the living standards and the nutritional status of the people, especially the rural poor, and (ii) exchanging these data with other countries to support national, regional and global food security programmes and policies.

Immediate Objective:

1. Phased implementation of the Master Plan for the Regional Data Exchange System for Food and Agriculture Statistics, following concepts formulated by the previous regional project, to transfer data both to and from countries in the Region, and FAO, in electronic format.
2. Strengthen national capacity to analyze, use and disseminate food and agricultural statistics in support of national agricultural development policy and planning, including associated food security and poverty alleviation concerns.