The Namibia Statistic Agency (NSA) says it will in 2025 conduct a census on the agriculture sector in rural areas including forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, in collaboration with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The exercise is prompted by the need for reliable and timely data to assist in planning, developing and formulating national policies.
This is preceded by the development of a Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Rural Statistics (SPARS) and the Namibia Census of Agriculture Project document, where various stakeholders on Monday gathered to craft and iron out the guiding tools.
NSA’s Statistician General (SG) Alex Shimuafeni said the SPARS will help to meet current and emerging data requirements and needs of policymakers.
“The action plan for the global strategy of Africa encourages countries to develop and implement SPARS, which aims to improve evidence-based decisions for poverty reduction in rural areas, increased food and food security; sustainable agriculture and rural development. It is in this context for the African development framework that Namibia undertook to develop SPARS,” Shimuafeni said.
“In August 2022 NSA and FAO signed an agreement on the development of SPARS and Namibia Census on Agriculture Project. These two strategies aim to hold efficient and new ways of collecting data.”
He acknowledged that there are gaps in agriculture data, while some data are scattered in some sectors, therefore emphasising the need for coordination capacity building in an effort to avoid duplication and working in silos.
“Imagine two government institutions separately conducting the same survey, this will result in duplication and wastage of financial resources, whereas in essence such efforts could be combined,” Shimuafeni said.
He applauded FAO’s assistance which has already sourced a project coordinator for SPARS and three consultants who will help in compiling sector plans for crop and livestock; fisheries and aquaculture; environment and forestry.
“We at NSA recognise the importance of agriculture and rural development in shaping the future of the nation thus it is imperative to make informed decisions and develop rural areas, with more emphasis placed on the need of reliable and up to date statistical data as outdated data is of no use,” he added.
The SG underscored the importance of agriculture, fisheries and forestry serving as the backbone of the economy and contributing to food security.
The sectors, Shimuafeni said, have on average contributed 8.4% to the Gross Domestic Product in the past five years, while 70% of the population depends on them.
“Rural areas depend on agriculture as a source of food and employment. However, there are challenges such as poverty, climate change, population growth, urban migration and a shift in consumption patterns. These can only be addressed through accurate and timely statistics to design effective policies and interventions,” he said.
Accurate and timely data can be achieved by revolutionising data collection methodologies by harmonising and strengthening the procedures such as traditional and digital forms. Other methods can be utilisation of administrative data, remote sensing, satellite imagery and geospatial analysis are pivotal in providing health information.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Statistician General Ottilie Mwazi said the SPARS comes at the time when the government is formulating the sixth National Development Plan. She said the latest data is paramount in improving and shaping the legislation with a focus on tackling current social ills.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources are part of the stakeholders involved in the SPAR formulation and Census Project.
