THE Statistics Department Malaysia (DoSM) — dubbed the country's official statistics producer — will carry out the 2024 Agricultural Census, which was last conducted in 2005.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the large-scale census covers households and business organisations involved in agricultural activities.
He said it included food crops and commodities, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, logging and forestry.
"The last time this country conducted an Agricultural Census was in 2005.
"The main information that will be produced from the census is the demographics of agricultural holdings, land area, irrigation system, workers, agro-tourism and financing facilities.
"It includes income and asset spending, agricultural practices and the use of technology, the digital economy in marketing, as well as aspects of food security."
Uzi said this after launching the Malaysian Greening Programme in conjunction with the 2024 Agricultural Census held at the Sigma Hall of the Malaysia Statistics Training Institute here, on Sunday.
Also present were Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) director-general Dr Ismail Parlan, Deputy Chief Statistician (Social Programme and Technical Development) Nazaria Baharudin and Deputy Chief Statistician (Economic Programme) Datin Seri Rozita Talha.
Earlier, Uzir, together with Ismail as well as over 300 participants, planted 350 seedlings in a 0.68-hectare area near Sigma Hall.
Uzir said the ministerial memorandum for the implementation of the 2024 Agricultural Census was presented and approved during the Ministerial Meeting on Nov 24.
"Officially, DoSM has received a written authority to intensify the preparatory work for the implementation of the 2024 Agricultural Census, in particular, the gazette.
"The implementation of the census is in line with the resolution of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which recommends that all countries carry out an Agricultural Census once every 10 years.
"For example, Australia, Canada and the Republic of Korea conduct an Agricultural Census every five years, while Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka conduct a census every 10 years."
As such, he said this year the DoSM has conducted various engagement sessions, including preparing questionnaires that meet the needs of the relevant ministry agencies for planning as an initial preparation for the implementation of the census.
He added that the department had interacted with more than 200 agencies at the federal level and about 1,000 at the district level.
"After we conducted an engagement session, we collected the data available at the agency and it is now being integrated.
"The last Agricultural Census was in 2005, resulting in many data gaps and inconsistent data that will be balanced.
"So far, we found that there are 1.6 million people involved in the agricultural sector, among them farmers, and there are also business organisations including large companies."
Uzir said this census would be combined with industry data collected, which involves the manufacturing sector related to agriculture, as well as linking export and import data to see the country's trade ecosystem.
"Thus, this Malaysian Greening Programme is symbolic of the implementation of the Agricultural Census that will be carried out by DoSM next year, in addition to supporting the government's commitment to environmental sustainability.
"This initiative not only reflects DoSM's commitment to environmental sustainability, but is also in line with the national agenda that emphasises the importance of green areas.
"It is in line with the 100 Million Tree Planting Campaign implemented by the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry for five years from 2021 to 2025."
Meanwhile, Ismail said the purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness of the importance of preserving green areas filled with trees throughout the country.
"The aim of this campaign is also to evoke a sense of love and appreciation for nature and increase understanding of nature-based solutions to create a more sustainable life.
"Up till today, we have planted more than 80 million trees across the country involving various agencies and parties, and we still have two years to reach the target of 100 million trees by 2025."
He said the cooperation between DoSM and FRIM would continue in the future in supporting the goal of sustainable development.