March 29 2019, CAMBODIA: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) representative, Mr Alexandre Huynh, and HE Hean Vanhan, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), signed an agreement for a Technical Cooperation project to support the application of agriculture survey data to policy, strategy, and program planning in Cambodia, in conjunction with the Cambodia Inter-Censal Agriculture Survey (CIAS) 2019.  The project is designed to assist the MAFF by addressing their information requirements and identifying analytical needs, and policy and program impact pathways to improve policy and decision-making. CIAS 2019 will commence data collection using new technologies for paperless data collection and survey management in June 2019.  

The project will yield direct benefits for the MAFF in early 2020, when the annual cycle of reporting and planning commences. The Department of Planning and Statistics within the MAFF is the key partner for the project, although the data provided will be useful to all departments and administrations of the MAFF and to other stakeholders. The National Institute of Statistics of the Ministry of Planning will work in close association with the Department of Planning and Statistics and line departments in the planning, capacity building, and data dissemination activities.

The scarcity of high-quality and timely agricultural data is a key constraint for Cambodia to effectively plan, finance, and implement development strategies, as it works to maximise its agricultural growth. Developing a robust and efficient data collection system addresses part of this challenge. We also need to identify which analyses could be used to inform different reporting and program development needs, and the best mechanisms through which to share this information with ministerial divisions and departments, provincial government offices, and other stakeholders.  This will maximise the benefits of conducting the agricultural survey.

Implementation of an annual survey of agriculture reflects a commitment to the use of quality information for evidence-based policy and decision-making that will lead to better development outcomes. The information generated will contribute to reporting on overall progress in the sector, emerging trends and the contribution to achieving Cambodia’s Strategic Development Goals.

Ensuring uptake of the data will support the MAFF in reporting against key strategies and policies, including the National Strategic Development Plan, the Agriculture Sector Strategic Development Plan, and other subsidiary strategies, such as the upcoming Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition. This data can also be used to identify future investments and manage socio-economic changes, for example where production shifts are influenced by changes in agricultural yield, demographic (gendered) engagement, labour needs, input costs, and environmental shocks such as drought. The Royal Government of Cambodia has committed to open data, whereby data can be access by all, with caveats around sensitive data.

The Technical Cooperation Project will support the AGRISurvey Programme launched in September 2018, in a signing ceremony between HE Chhay Than, Secretary of State for the MAFF, and Mr Alexandre Huynh.  The two projects will assist the Royal Government of Cambodia in strengthening its national statistical system to meet the challenges of national development.