Mohd Uzir (third from left) and his team of census takers meeting with the Legasi Al Amin Deer Farm entrepreneur (far right) while on the field in Dengkil, Selangor for the 2024 Agricultural Census.
PUTRAJAYA: The 2024 Agriculture Census reached its halfway mark (Aug 23) after three months of field work, with 48 days remaining until the census operation concludes.
The census, which began on July 7 and will continue until Oct 10, aims to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of Malaysia’s agricultural sector.
Census commissioner and Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that the results will serve as indicators for the strategic formulation of policies for the national agricultural sector.
The targeted respondents for the 2024 Agriculture Census include individuals such as farmers, fishermen, and livestock breeders.
In addition, the census also targets business organisations such as farms and agricultural activities conducted by institutions like cooperatives and prisons.
The coverage of this census is more comprehensive than the last census in 2005, as it includes the subsectors of crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry and logging.
The 2024 Agriculture Census was officially launched by Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on July 4 at MAEPS, Serdang, Selangor.
Following this “kick-off”, fieldwork started on July 7, conducted by the 2024 Agriculture Census Commissioner in Kampung Kok Klang, Perlis.
On-ground visits were carried out in selected districts to meet with entrepreneurs, monitor the census implementation and gather feedback from enumerators and supervisors.
Mohd Uzir said, “As of Aug 23, the overall progress of the fieldwork operation had involved 623,338 agricultural holdings, where 614,066 residential places and 9,272 business organisations engaged in agricultural activities have been visited.”
Of the 623,338 agricultural holdings, state-level analysis shows that three states recorded the highest number of visits: Sabah (134,742), followed by Johor (103,976), and Sarawak (66,196).
He added that an estimated 1.12 million residential places and 20,000 organisations would be covered throughout the three-month census period.
This activity will involve around 5,000 enumerators and fieldwork supervisors, with each enumerator expected to complete three to four survey questionnaires per day.
With less than two months remaining until the census deadline, the form processing and data capture work would involve about 1,700 enumerators and processing supervisors nationwide.
To ensure the effectiveness of the data to be produced, Mohd Uzir urged all agricultural entrepreneurs involved in upstream and downstream agricultural activities to cooperate with DOSM by providing honest and accurate information to the enumerators.
Various efforts have been and are being implemented, such as educating the public and intensifying community engagement sessions.
These efforts are expected to help strengthen the census operations on the ground.
Respondents should not hesitate or be concerned about disclosing agricultural information, as this data can assist policymakers and industry players in making better decisions and optimising operations within the agricultural sector.
For more information about the census, visit the DOSM portal at www.myagricensus.gov.my and the Agriculture Census 2024 Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bancipertanian2024/.
The theme of the Agriculture Census 2024 is “Agriculture Census, Key to Agricultural Progress.”The Malaysian government has declared National Statistics Day (MyStats Day) on October 20 every year.
The theme for MyStats Day is “Statistics, the pulse of life”. DOSM celebrates its Diamond Jubilee in 2024.
