Development Constraint to be Addressed:

Trinidad and Tobago’s last agricultural census was conducted in 1982. The Government has planned to carry out a new agricultural census in 2004 and resources have been allocated for that purpose. The new census represents and important opportunity for the Government to obtain updated and reliable information on a series of variables of the agricultural sector, which are needed to adequately plan, monitor and evaluate the sector development plans and projects. The issue has become even more important since Government planners and partners institutions have been placing great emphasis on the development of the agricultural sector, as reflected in the Medium Term Policy Framework 2002-2004. In fact, despite its small contribution to the national economy (3 percent of the GDP), the agricultural sector is an important source of employment and income and its development is seen as a mean of diversifying the economy and shifting away from the traditional dependence on the oil sector. At the Government request, an ESS mission visited the country in September 2001 to review the planning for the agricultural census and to determine the needs for technical assistance. The mission assessment identified a lack of technical skills in certain key areas, including census methodology and data processing and analysis. The Government has requested FAO assistance to address these needs.

Immediate Objectives:

1. to prepare for, and conduct, an agricultural census that will provide up-to-date and reliable information on the structure of the agricultural sector, taking into account gender considerations;
   
2. to use sampling frames developed during the census as the foundation for the improved design of an agricultural statistics system for the collection, processing and dissemination of current agricultural sector information;
   
3. to strengthen the capacity of the CSO to conduct a programme of periodic agricultural sector surveys, to analyze the data and to disseminate agricultural sector information, taking into consideration a gender approach.