Question NW1096 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
15 May 2023 - NW1096
Cebekhulu, Inkosi RN to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Whether, with reference to a certain person (name and details furnished) stating that incomplete statistics on the Republic’s agriculture have resulted in missed opportunities, her department has any plans in place to address the issue through (a) new data technology and (b) providing funds to data collectors to see the improvement of data collection methods; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
Yes.
a) The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is in the process of developing the Agricultural Statistics Strategy in partnership with Statistics South Africa, including other industry stakeholders such as State-Owned Enterprises and provincial departments of agriculture. It is envisaged that the Strategy will among other things address the bias in the availability of agricultural statistics within the country through the development of more representative statistical products, while continuous oversight will be provided to the process. The draft strategy is undergoing consultation before is presented before the executive of the Department.
b) If successfully implemented, the Strategy will resolve the main challenges faced with the collection, processing, and dissemination of agricultural statistics. Among others, the Strategy addresses the Data Management System, which will ensure that technology becomes an intricate part of producing the statistics. The strategy will contribute to the enhancement of an ongoing process of data collection that includes the census, surveys, farmer register, and crop estimates. In 2007 Stats SA collaborated with the Department of Agriculture in conducting Censuses 2007 and more recently another Census was conducted in 2017. Both Censuses were funded by the DALRRD. Additionally, the Annual Agricultural Surveys are released by Stats SA. Stats SA uses the DALRRD Economic Accounts figures as a benchmark on a regular basis. If the strategy is funded fully, among others, data collectors will be resourced.