Improving Agricultural Statistics in the COMCEC Region
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c. Sources of Data
Sources of agricultural statistics are summarized in Table 24. The share of estimated data
ranges between 0-27 percent overall. In the African group percentages of estimated data are
relatively higher than the Arab and Asian groups. It is normal to expect higher levels of
administrative data in trade and estimated data in consumption statistics. However, high
percentages of administrative and estimated data in production are alarming. On average
43 percent of the primary statistics in COMCEC Member Countries are either administrative or
estimated. This ratio is as high as 52 percent in the Asian group, 43 and 37 percent in Arab and
African groups respectively.
Table 24: Percentage Distribution of the Sources of Agricultural Statistics
SOURCE OF DATA (%)
African Group Arab Group Asian Group COMCEC
SurveyCensusEstimationAdmin.SurveyCensusEstimationAdmin.SurveyCensusEstimationAdmin.SurveyCensusEstimationAdmin.
Crop production 71 7 14 7 69 6 6 19 46 8 23 23 63 5 14 16
Harvested area 71 7 14 7 56 19 6 19 43 7 21 29 59 8 13 15
Yield per hectare 69 0 23 8 64 7 0 29 50 8 17 25 67 3 12 15
Livestock prod. 50 17 25 8 54 8 0 38 38 15 8 38 50 10 12 24
Forest products 50 0 13 38 20 10 10 60 42 8 8 42 42 2 13 42
Fishery products 55 0 27 18 36 7 7 50 54 8 8 31 52 4 15 27
Agric. export 13 0 0 88 8 0 0 92 11 0 0 89 8 13 0 88
Agric. import 14 0 0 86 7 0 0 93 11 0 0 89 8 13 0 88
Producer prices 90 0 0 10 58 0 0 42 75 0 0 25 74 0 0 26
Input prices 100 0 0 0 45 0 0 55 67 0 0 33 56 0 0 44
Cons. Quantity 83 0 17 0 67 0 0 33 40 0 10 50 60 0 10 30
Calories 80 0 20 0 60 0 20 20 60 0 20 20 64 0 21 14
Protein 50 0 50 0 60 0 20 20 50 0 25 25 55 0 27 18
Fats 50 0 50 0 60 0 20 20 60 0 20 20 55 0 27 18
Land use 50 10 0 40 42 17 17 25 17 8 8 67 41 5 7 44
Rural population 17 42 33 8 33 33 22 11 17 58 0 25 23 58 23 13
Active population 18 55 27 0 56 33 0 11 60 30 0 10 43 28 7 7
Labor 56 22 11 11 82 9 0 9 73 9 9 9 73 4 8 8
Machinery 43 14 0 43 60 10 0 30 9 27 0 64 43 7 0 43
Fertilizers 63 13 0 25 45 0 0 55 10 10 0 80 43 5 0 50
Pesticides 75 13 0 13 45 0 0 55 0 0 0 100 46 2 0 50
Rural infrastruct. 20 20 0 60 29 14 0 57 0 0 0 100 21 9 0 64
Rural employm. 56 11 11 22 78 11 0 11 78 11 0 11 70 4 0 15
Agricult. credit 33 17 0 50 50 0 0 50 0 20 0 80 29 3 0 65
Average 53 10 14 23 49 8 5 38 38 9 7 45 48 8 9 34
Source: SSAQ Results.
d. Geographical Coverage
Table 25 presents the distribution of statistical data by geographic coverage. Overall, nearly
half the agricultural statistics are at the national level, 22 percent at the regional level and
30 percent at the provincial and lower levels. In the African and Asian groups, the percentage
of statistics reported at the national level is the same, at 49 percent. The Arab group has the
lowest percentage (43 percent) of statistics reported at the national level. Almost all
consumption statistics are reported at the national or regional levels. The highest level of