DTSG Commends NBS For Workshop On National Agricultural Sample Census
By Shulamite Owhoekevbo
ASABA/Nigeria: Delta State Government has commended the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for organising the Southern Stakeholders Sensitization Workshop on National Agricultural Sample Census (NASC).
The Commissioner for Economic Planning, Dr Barry Gbe, gave the commendation at the Southern Stakeholders Sensitization Workshop on National Agricultural Sample Census held in Asaba, the state capital.
Dr Gbe, who was represented by his special assistant, Dr Alex Ighono, said that the workshop would provide data on structure of the agricultural sector in Nigeria to assist government on formulating policies aimed at attaining food security and poverty alleviation.
He noted that the government realised the importance of agricultural data collection which he said was relevant to the successful planning and implementation of government policies and programmes as it affects the agricultural sector in the country.
The economic planning commissioner appealed to statisticians to always give relevant, reliable and timely agricultural data, explaining that it was the key to attaining food security and eradicating poverty.
The commissioner further lauded the participatory approach of the NBS involving all stakeholders, agreeing that it would ensure transparency and a sense of ownership of the objectives of the census.
He promised government support towards the collection of qualitative data to ensure the success of government policies and programmes in the state.
Speaking earlier, a federal statistician, Mr Yemi Adeniron, stated that the enumeration exercise would be in two phases, namely: training the trainers and training the enumerators, adding that it was an instrument in ensuring good standard in statistical practice.
Adeniran noted that since agricultural census was a key part of the economic and sociocultural life of Nigerians, what was produced and how much was produced as well as the potentials and challenges in the exercise must be taken into consideration.
He charged the participants to take the workshop seriously, stressing that the quality of their field work as enumerators would provide a comprehensive framework for other subsequent agricultural surveys.
The workshop was attended by federal and state directors of statistics from the Ministries of Planning and Budget.
