In Nepal, FAO is working with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), to design and implement an agricultural sample survey, based on the AGRISurvey methodology.
The emphasis is to ensure that information on agriculture and livestock, and data on production, revenues, and farm practices inter alia, are mainstreamed into the annual survey system, and that the quality and relevance of these data is further improved and sustained over time. AGRISurvey in Nepal is thus centred around improving and broadening the scope of current agriculture statistics, expanding the coverage to non-household holdings, as well as ensuring continuity with the census and other ad-hoc agricultural surveys carried out. Furthermore, Nepal is testing a component on disaster damage and loss statistics, which aims to provide structural information on the impact of disasters on agriculture in support of national disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation priorities.
Through the AGRISurvey programme, FAO is providing technical support in questionnaire design, development of a Master Sampling Frame, and the setup of an open data policy. The process was launched in 2019 with the development and piloting of a Core Agricultural Survey and an enhanced module on Production Methods and the Environment. In 2019, CBS and MoALD piloted the survey instruments through a large pilot survey in the district of Chitwan. In 2020-2021, the country will conduct a nation-wide survey focusing on livestock-oriented commercial farms.