Improving Agricultural Statistics in the COMCEC Region
6
percent to 11 percent.7 This is slightly lower than undernourishment at the world average of
12 percent, and the developing country average of 14 percent. 8
1.2 Need for Agricultural Statistics
Agriculture not only provides the fundamental needs for human survival, it is also an
important sector for economic and social development, due to its contribution to GDP and
employment. In addition, it is recognized as a key sector for reducing poverty and sustaining
rural development especially in developing countries. It is the only source of income for the
majority of the poor, situated in rural areas of some countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan
Africa.
Recent food crises, biofuel production and the global climate change have increased the
concerns of food security, placing agriculture as a top priority on the world agenda. The food
crisis in 2008 resulted in rising food prices adversely affecting the lives of people particularly
in low income groups. This forced most governments to take additional measures to ensure
sustainable agriculture and food security.
Today, about 850 million people worldwide are undernourished, particularly in Sub-Saharan
Africa and Asia. In developing countries, even if agricultural production doubles by 2050, one
in twenty persons – equivalent to 370 million – most of whom will be in Africa and Asia, will
risk being undernourished. In this respect, agriculture will continue to be an engine of
economic growth and play a central role in rural poverty reduction. Development of a modern
agricultural sector has particular importance for ensuring food security, reducing poverty,
providing employment and promoting agriculture-related sectors. 9
Nevertheless, agriculture is not only important for developing countries whose economic and
social welfare depends on agriculture. It is also for crucial for developed countries that need to
feed their populations with food that they or others produce, supply inputs including seeds,
and share the negative externalities of scarce resources such as water and pollution.
Furthermore, agricultural sectors of these countries are no longer isolated; they depend
heavily on other sectors, which imply the possibility of spillover effects both ways.
Given the importance of agriculture at the national and global level, the growing
interdependence of agriculture and other economic sectors, as well as increasing globalization
make the policy alternatives available abundant. At the same time however, the information
requirements become very important. The art of effective policy making is to use the available,
but scarce resources in the most efficient manner possible, to produce and consume goods and
services for the domestic and international markets, so that the consumer and producer
welfares in the country are maximized. This requires past, current and projected data to be
reliable and up-to-date. This information should relate to inputs, outputs, technology, input
and output prices, demand elasticities, exchange rates, GDPs, population growths, etc,
generated both at domestic and international levels.
7 COMCEC, 2013.
8 FAO, 2013.
9 Ibid