Paulina Quintao – The Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Census, Claudio Ninas Nabais said the main objective of the agriculture census 2019 is to provide information and accurate data to the government, so it can develop policies that respond to the need of farmers and that increase the country's agriculture production.

He said it has been 17 years since Timor-Leste became independent and this is the first time the country will conduct an agriculture census, to know how agriculture activities in the country take place, and domestic production capacity, because most farmers practice only subsistence agriculture.

"Mostly we are talking about subsistence agriculture. But to switch this to modern agriculture, how will we know where should we start. This research is very important," he said.

He added there are many indicators that will be developed through this research, including for the horticulture, livestock, fishery and forestry sectors.

The General Director for Statistics, Ministry of Finance, Elias dos Santos Ferreira asked the public, including farmers, to welcome the enumerators of the census and to provide them with correct information about existing animals, and to not hide information, because the data is very important to help government develop better plans for the development of the agriculture sector in the country.

"I think if we have accurate data about the size of our rice fields, farms and their production, we will give this data to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery to make better plans," he said.

He said there are a total of 1.584 people who will get involved in the agriculture census, including the enumerators and supervisors.

The agriculture census will cost $5 million and it will start on 12 August and continue until 12 October 2019.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Hametin Agrikultura Sustentavel Organization (HASATIL), Gil Boavida said the agriculture census will serve as a guide for the government to develop a policy that will guide all organizations who work in the agriculture sector.

"I hope this census will guide us in creating a policy that will respond to the real need of the agriculture sector and productivity, to guarantee its sustainability," he said.

He also said that a major problem facing the agriculture sector is the decreasing agriculture productivity in the country, due to the lack of participation from the young generations.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/17363-agriculture-census-to-support-government-improve-policies