Jordan, Egypt are leading agricultural census efforts regionally — FAO

AMMAN — The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in cooperation with the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics and the Arab Organisation for Agriculture Development on Thursday concluded a four-day national agricultural census workshop in Amman.

The workshop was attended by representatives from 22 countries across the MENA region. Done every 10 years, the census supports evidence-based policymaking with comprehensive statistics on issues such as land use, food production, agricultural productivity and agri-business development, a FAO statement sent to The Jordan Times said.

FAO Jordan Partnerships Officer Sally Berman said censuses are “critical” to planning interventions to help farmers, consumers and the environment. FAO also introduced new operational census guidelines during the event, as the organisation assists 128 countries with their censuses, including Jordan said Jay Castano, FAO agricultural censuses team leader.