Improving Agricultural Statistics in the COMCEC Region
110
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation 2012–2016 aims to establish an integrated action plan to
produce high quality, reliable and timely data for policymakers.102
i. Organization of the Agricultural Statistics System
The Legal Framework: In June 2012, the Minister for the Ministry of the Council of Ministers
was issued a decision to form the National Committee for data producers and data users, and
assigned a Chairman of the Committee and Director General of Central Bureau of Statistics as a
permanent member of the Committee. Part of the national statistical system strategy is to
urgently fill the need for capability building, acquire data and create quality databases for
systems, practices and support to facilitate the implementation of the national statistical
system.103
In spite of the decision to form this National Committee, the responsibility for the collection of
agricultural statistics is still currently under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture and
Irrigation, specifically as part of the Directorate Agricultural Economics (DAE) and under the
mandate of the Agricultural Research and Technology Corporation (ARTC), which requires the
permission of the MoAI prior to conducting any research or acquisition of statistics concerning
agriculture. ARTC is mandated to plan and undertake applied research on crops and livestock
production, natural resource base protection and conservation. It is responsible for breeding
improved and hybrid seeds of high yielding varieties, of drought tolerant crop varieties under
rain fed conditions. It also conducts research on soil treatment and conservation, dealing with
tillage and non–tillage operations.
Institutional Set Up: Two institutions play significant roles in providing agricultural statistics
in Sudan. These are the Department of Agricultural Economics of MoAI and the Central Bureau
of Statistics (CBS). DAE of MoAI has an Agricultural Statistics Unit (ASU). However, the CBS is
the principal official statistical agency within the Government of Sudan. In the field of statistics,
the Bureau is the state’s primary institute for conducting statistical researches relating to
economic and social activities, and promotes statistical systems, as required in the economic
and social development plans and programmes. The CBS is mandated to (CBS (2014c)):
 Coordinate the statistical work between the states, State organs, ministries and
Government units,
 Prepare the statistical researches relating to population statistics, and economic
activities, in cooperation with the competent bodies,
 Establish a national system of statistical information and promote the systems and
styles of statistical information technology, in accordance with the modern scientific
standards,
 Collect, organize, unify, prepare, analyse and summarize the results from the statistical
information,
 Establish a central archive to authenticate statistical publications,
 Bind the various State organs to disseminate all statistical information that are
collected and statistical publications that they issue,
102 MOAI, 2014.
103 CBS, 2014c.