Development Constraint to be Addressed:

With the global shift towards market economies, the need for timely and reliable agricultural information has become more important than ever before in the decision making process at international and national levels.

The current agricultural surveys in Iran are the national agricultural & livestock surveys that provide periodically (on a seasonal, semestral or annual basis) the basic data of the agricultural sector of the country. For example, there are forecasts and estimates of crop production, livestock inventories and basic social and economic data pertaining to the sector.

The only types of current agricultural surveys that can provide reliable data of a country's agricultural sector are those based on probability sampling methods. For the other types of surveys, the so-called non-probability or subjective surveys, there is usually no way to judge their accuracy because they are not based on any procedure that allows for statistical analysis or evaluation. Reliable annual/seasonal national statistics of a country's agricultural sector can only be provided by the establishment of a periodic, national agricultural survey programme based on probability sampling methods. In Iran, at present, annual and seasonal estimates for most agricultural commodities are just estimates as they are not based on probability sampling methods.

The Current Agricultural Survey Programme (CASP) should be based on probability sampling and estimation methods.

Development Objective:

The development objective is to establish a methodology for a new National Programme of Agricultural Surveys that would produce twice a year the basic national and provincial level data for the agricultural sector, including crop forecasts and post-harvest crop estimates, livestock composition, as well as information on economic and social aspects of the agricultural sector.

Immediate Objective:

The immediate objectives of the project are to design an Annual Agricultural Survey in the Markazi Province, using a multiple-frame survey design with two survey rounds per year, and then conduct two survey rounds. The work plan and preliminary budget for this pilot phase include the purchase of cartographic materials for agricultural survey purposes.

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