Development Constraint to be Addressed:

1n 1996, a strategy for the long term development of agricultural statistics in Cambodia was prepared as part of FAO's assistance through its Technical Cooperation Programme, project "TCP/CMB/4452 - Training for Agricultural Statistics". This strategy proposed that the system of agricultural statistics should have a number of elements including:

• regular sample surveys to provide statistics on crops and livestock
• regular reporting on crop conditions by MAFF field staff
• regular collection of price data from markets and other sources
• compilation of data from administrative sources, such as abattoirs
• ad hoc sample surveys to provide data as needed on topics such as postharvest losses, cost of production, nutrition, farm labour, etc.
• data for monitoring and evaluating agricultural policy and programmes
• a decennial agricultural census

Support for this development initiative was provided through a loan to the Government by the International Development Association (IDA) entitled Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (APIP). The Agricultural Policy Planning and Statistics Component is one of the nine components of APIP. The component, in turn, consists of three sub-components: i) Agricultural Policy and Planning, ii) Support to Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (SPDAFF), and iii) Agricultural Statistics System Establishment. The Department of Planning, Statistics and International Cooperation (DPSIC) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is responsible for implementation of the component. As part of the implementation strategy, the Government signed an agreement with FAO for the provision of Consultant's Services in support of the Agricultural Statistics Sub-component.

Development objective:

To strengthen the institutional capacity of MAFF to develop and maintain a system of food and agriculture statistics at district, provincial and national levels, and monitoring and analysis of producer price development.

Cambodia participates in a Regional Project: see Asia and Pacific - Regional for more information.