Improving Agricultural Statistics in the COMCEC Region
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3.3 Turkey
In the Republic of Turkey, the production of agricultural statistics dates back to the
establishment of the “Central Statistics Office” in 1926, and is based on the administrative data
compiled by the local offices of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MFAL) and
data collected from the field by agricultural censuses. In view of the process of alignment with
the EU Acquis, arising from the candidate country status of Turkey as well as from national
targets, the existing agricultural statistics system needs to be improved to ensure the
production of sound and reliable data. Efforts for the improvement of the Turkish agricultural
statistics system are ongoing within the framework of the close cooperation between the
Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and MFAL.
Nevertheless, the agricultural statistics system meets quite a large amount of the needs of
national and international researchers and policymakers. While the statistical system uses the
most up-to-date methodologies and technologies to the extent of the resources available, there
still is a mismatch between the demand for and supply of agricultural statistics.
i. Organization of the Agricultural Statistics System
Legal Framework: In Turkey, the legal framework for the production of agricultural statistics is
comprised of the Turkish Statistical Law No. 5429 and secondary legislative arrangements,
including by-laws and instructions. The two public institutions with which the responsibility of
the production of agricultural statistics rests are TurkStat and MFAL, yet other institutions,
including NGOs, are also involved in data supply.
The Official Statistics Programme is the other regulatory arrangement overseeing statistics in
Turkey. It establishes the framework for official statistics that will be produced at the national
and international level. Censuses and surveys are carried out within the framework of this
programme. The programme is drafted by the TurkStat for period of five years in line with the
advisory comments of the council and submitted to the Council of Ministers. The programme
will be put into effect upon the publication of the decision of the Council of Ministers in the
Official Gazette. When needed, amendments to the programme, proposed by the TurkStat after
soliciting the opinion of the related organizations, are made with the decision of the Council of
Ministers, and published in the Official Gazette. TurkStat is in charge of implementing the
programme. In relation to the implementation of the programme, TurkStat is expected to
prepare annual monitoring reports to be submitted to the Council on the implementation of
the programme and inform the public with appropriate means.55
Pursuant to Decree Law No. 639 on the organisation and tasks of the Ministry of Food,
Agriculture and Livestock, annual data collection for crop production and animal production
statistics and monthly agricultural price statistics are performed by the Province and District
Directorates of MFAL. Within MFAL, the GIS Department under the General Directorate of
Agricultural Reform is assigned with the task of collecting agricultural data.
55 TurkStat, 2014a.