The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is set to carry out the National Agricultural Sample Census (NASC) after 28 years, with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, stating that exercise is long overdue.
Zainab Ahmed spoke in Abuja at the opening of a stakeholders’ sensitization workshop on the importance of the census on Thursday.
She noted that agriculture was one of Nigeria’s most important sectors as it holds approximately 24 percent of the economy and is a source of employment for well over 50 percent of the workforce, directly and indirectly.
The minister also noted that while the sector is vital for economic output and employment purposes, it is also an essential part of our societal culture.
“The importance of this sector, more than ever before, has been demonstrated by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, through the heavy investments channeled into it since 2015.
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“The aim of these investments is to increase output in the entire value chain to meet the nation’s demand for food, employment and export earnings.
“It is as a result of government’s heavy investment and attention to this sector that during the recession brought in by the Covid-19 pandemic and the security challenges being encountered in some parts of the country, the sector consistently recorded positive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers.”
The minister pointed out that in spite of the gains recorded in the sector, a lot more remains to be done as the coutry’s population continues to rise exponentially, adding that food output must cater to the demand of the growing population.
She also added that the desire for a self-sufficient agricultural sector could not be accomplished without the use of adequate and reliable statistics.
This, she said, was because the success of policies, plans and programmes could only be accomplished with the correct data supporting them, hence the high premium the Federal Government places on quality data.
The Statistician-General of the Federation, Simon Harry stated that agriculture was a necessary activity with notable economic and social benefits to the nation.
“It is therefore pertinent that adequate, timely and reliable statistics on the sector are readily available for policy formulation, planning, monitoring and evaluation of progress of programmes and projects.
“Thus, the NASC is designed to produce vital primary data on the structural composition and operations of the sector.
“On completion of the census, the result will also form a statistical framework for the conduct of subsequent agriculture surveys in Nigeria.”
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