Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has devised a plan to conduct the 7th Agricultural Census in 2024, across the country to undertake an integrated digital count of agriculture, livestock and machinery as per international best practices under United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) guidelines.
According to the news release, effective and efficient management of human and financial resources is crucial in the 7th Agricultural Census to ensure the provision of credible statistics.
The census consumed around Rs 650 million while the field operation will be conducted in September-October this year. For broader involvement and wider acceptability, PBS initiated engagements with partner organizations and provincial stakeholders namely the Board of Revenue, Agricultural (Extension), Livestock, Provincial Bureau of Statistics, Crop Reporting Services etc.
The participation of stakeholders helped in diversified perspectives, identifying needs, and addressing the shortcomings and potential issues for the provision of credible statistics as per requirements and avoiding any inconveniencte during field operation of the Agricultural Census.
The process started with the meeting of all provincial focal persons (SMBRs) at PBS HQ Islamabad on 20th December 2023.
After this series of Provincial meetings started, the first provincial meeting held at Provincial Census Coordination Center (P3C), Sindh, and the second meeting was held at the Provincial Office, Punjab, Lahore under the chair of Dr. Naeem uz Zafar, Chief Census Commissioner.
Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Member (SS/RM), senior officers from PBS and senior officers from Provincial departments also attended the meeting. The Chief Census Commissioner highlighted that Pakistan is an agricultural country and agriculture has a 23% share in the GDP out of which 64% of livestock shares in agriculture and provides employment to 37% of the labor force.—APP
