Census of agriculture

Through the work of the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA), FAO provides technical assistance and capacity building to countries to support the production and dissemination of relevant, sound, harmonized and internationally comparable structural data on agriculture to underpin evidence-based decision making at national, regional and international levels, including for monitoring some key indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Since the 1940s, FAO, through the WCA, provides support to countries with the planning, designing, and implementation of their national agricultural census while developing and promoting international standards and guidelines on conducting agricultural censuses.

FAO regularly organizes regional roundtables and workshops to disseminate among member countries the latest census standards and best practices. These events also aim to facilitate the exchange of country knowledge and experiences.

Each round of agricultural censuses covers a ten-year period. The present round (WCA 2020) covers agricultural censuses to be undertaken between 2016 and 2025. The WCA 2020 will ensure that data collected are comparable at the international level while also addressing emerging information needs.

FAO regularly documents agricultural censuses worldwide and posts the census reports and other materials online. Following the end of each census round, FAO reviews national census practices, methodologies and results, and publishes its findings in FAO’s Statistical Development Series.

To know more, visit the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture website.