In accordance with its 2016 Annual Work Plan and within the framework of Statistical Capacity Building (StatCaB) Programme, SESRIC has organised the Training Course on ‘Agricultural Surveys’ at Gambia Bureau of Statistics on 20-22 September 2016.

The Training Course was conducted by Mr. Emmanuel Menyha, Director of Agriculture and Environment Statistics of Uganda Bureau of Statistics with the participation of relevant officials of Gambia Bureau of Statistics.

As defined in the Classification of Statistical Activities (CSA Rev. 1 - October 2009; http://goo.gl/olg3Tz); Agricultural Surveys – covered methodology and organization of agricultural surveys, including sampling, and international surveys.

The Training Course on ‘Agricultural Surveys’ included discussion activities with a focus on the following topics:

• The global strategy for improving agricultural and rural statistics
• Fundamental principles of official statistics
• Types and sources of agricultural statistics in Africa
• Importance of the census of agriculture
• Methodological considerations for census of agriculture WCA 2020
• Steps in developing an agricultural census
• Relationship of the census of agriculture to the population census and other censuses
• Modular approach for agriculture censuses/surveys
• Items for an agricultural census
• Work plan, budget and expenditure control
• The survey design
• Tabulation plan
• Design of instruments for data collection
• Staff and training requirements for conducting an agricultural censuses/surveys
• Principles of data quality
• Steps to produce quality data for censuses/surveys
• Methods of area and yield estimation
• Challenges in the estimation of agricultural production

Sign up for an account at OIC-StatCom Forum (http://forum.sesric.org/) to join the group discussion on the Training Course on ‘Agricultural Surveys’ in Republic of The Gambia available at: http://forum.sesric.org/?p=72