Production to come under the microscope with Agriculture census

May 28, 2017 News

In an effort to fully understand the state of Guyana’s agriculture sector, the state is currently in the preparatory stage for its first agriculture census in over 65 years.

Efforts are underway for Guyana to have an Agri Census after an over 65 year hiatus.

Speaking with Chief Statistician of GNBS, Lennox Benjamin yesterday, it was explained to Kaieteur News that the Ministry of Agriculture will be playing a significant role in this process as the subject matter agency.
“Our mandate is to assist them with the actual execution of the Agri (cultural) census; I know it has been reported that there hasn’t been an Agri census since in the 1950s.”
He said that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) would be involved in the process as well. He added that with the attendance of one their staff to a recent workshop in Trinidad and Tobago, the intention is to have a pilot or trial census between February and March of 2018.
To ensure the census is done properly Cabinet had approved the attendance of Senior Statistician of the Guyana National Bureau of Statistics (GNBS), Ms Jacqueline Tull to a workshop on the World Census of Agriculture 2020 round. This event was held in Port-of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago beginning on May 22 and culminated on May 26, 2017.
According to a statement released by the government, the workshop is expected to bring together regional Statistical Officers and regional and international specialists. Further, the statement said that this workshop will facilitate proper planning and preparation for a successful National Agricultural Census in Guyana.
Benjamin further explained that the complete census will be done some time in 2018 August. “So we are in the earlier stages of planning but essentially, that’s the intended framework for the execution of the Agri census at this point in time.”
It was highlighted, recently, during a farmers outreach programme in Regions Five and Six by Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority, (GLDA), Nigel Cumberbatch, that due to the fact that Guyana does not having an agriculture livestock census, farmers are unaware of what the current cattle population is in the country.
However, he did say that the Sustainable Agricultural Development Programme (SADP) which was launched earlier this year will correct the issue. He said that the SADP will facilitate the census and will focus on providing information to planners and policy makers who will then have an understanding of the progress and future prospects of all agricultural industries, products and farm practices.
Based on the most recent figures on the livestock population in Guyana there are 210,000 cattle, 185,000 pigs, 120,000 sheep, 79,000 goats and 15 million chickens. In the mid-1980s, Guyana had imported the Cuban Holstein-Zebu cattle in order to become self-sufficient in milk production.
The poultry industry has remained one of the single most important industries in the livestock sub-sector as it provides employment and contributes to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Based on the most recent figures, there are approximately 2500 pig farmers operating particularly in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six.