Improving Agricultural Statistics in the COMCEC Region
37
Table 20: Structure of the Statistical System (%)
Decentralized
Minimum
Coordination
Decentralized
Active
Coordination
NSO Responsible
for Most Statistics
Some Sector
Offices
One Department
Responsible. For
All Statistics
African Group 17 25 58 0
Arab Group 8 15 46 23
Asian Group 0 27 82 0
COMCEC 9 20 62 9
Source: SSAQ Results.
More than three quarters of COMCEC Member Countries and all of Asian group countries have
statistical systems at the sub-national levels, which also cover agricultural statistics. Most of
African group and three quarters of all COMCEC Members have stated that they have a national
strategy for agricultural statistics. The Arab group registered the lowest number of positive
responses to a national strategy or program of activities in agricultural statistics (Table 21).
Most countries reported having international cooperation with the World Bank, FAO, EU,
UNSD, and Regional Development Banks.
Table 21: Statistical Systems at Sub-National Level and Strategic Framework (%)
Statistical
System at
Sub-
National
Level?
Agricultural
Statistics at
Sub-National
Level?
National
Strategy for
Agric.
Statistics?
National
Strategy for Agr.
Stat
Operational?
Program of
Activities
For
Statistics?
Internt.
Coop.?
African Group 56 83 92 58 100 100
Arab Group 70 70 62 38 83 92
Asian Group 100 100 73 64 89 90
COMCEC 76 85 75 53 92 94
Source: SSAQ Results.
b. Timeliness
As important as the coverage of agricultural statistics, so is the timeliness of dissemination.
Statistics which are unavailable when needed are of little use. The timing of dissemination
should also be understood as its availability to the public. Often agricultural statistics are
available to a limited number of internal users in a timely manner, but disseminated to the
general public with substantial delay due to longer publication periods. In this study the
timeliness of statistics means its availability to the public in electronic or paper formats.
In the COMCEC Member Countries the availability of the most recent data varies significantly
according to the topics. Topics on traditional production, area and yield statistics are on
average 0.7-0.8 years old, while resource and consumption statistics are generally 1-1.3 years
old. For delayed calculations, it is assumed that statistics produced for the year 2013 and
beyond are current, while statistics for 2012 are one year late, and those for or prior to 2011
are two years late. Most recent statistics are the price and trade statistics, as expected with an