Speaking before the stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, Agusan del Sur Provincial Statistics Officer Jesus Apellado said the objective of the census is to determine the structural characteristics of agriculture and fisheries sectors.

"It also provides sampling frame for the conduct of census supplementary modules on irrigation and cropping pattern, livestock and poultry, aquaculture and fisheries, and other statistical undertakings," Apellado said.

Apellado added the activity provides basic data for use in national as well as subnational development planning and services in the barangay.

The collection of data on agriculture and fisheries establishments was first included in the Census of Establishments in 1903, 1918, 1939, and 1948. However, in 1960, the Census of Agriculture was undertaken separately from Census of Establishments, Apellado said.

Since 1970, and every 10 years thereafter, the Census of Agriculture has been conducted together with the Census of Fisheries. These two census activities are collectively known as Census of Agriculture and Fisheries. The 2012 CAF will be the sixth of a series of decennial census on agriculture and the fifth on fisheries in the country.

For the government, Apellado said the statistics derived from the CAF will be used to make more meaningful decisions with respect to the use of the country’s agricultural and fisheries resources. This will also provide framework for the country’s development program, as well as for local area planning, and measure progress in agriculture and fisheries sectors.

The business and industry sectors will also benefit from this endeavor since the data will be utilized in making projections on productions and planning the quantity and types of commodities that should be produced, Apellado further said.

The official added that the result of the census will serve as basis in conducting research on agriculture and fisheries as well as to provide frame for the various surveys in agriculture and fisheries.

The Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) is a large-scale government undertaking geared towards the collection and compilation of basic information in the agriculture and fishery sector in the country.

The collected data will constitute the bases from which policy makers and planners will evolve plans for the country’s development.