Affiliations: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
Note: [] Corresponding author: Pietro Gennari, Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The objective of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and
Rural Statistics is to enable developing countries to build a sound and
comprehensive agricultural statistical system, that is sustainable, well
integrated in the overall national statistical system and that is capable of
responding to the information needs of the 21^{st}
century. One of the three pillars of the Global Strategy is the integration of
agriculture into the national statistical system which is obtained through
three methodological tools: (i) an integrated survey framework, that defines
the mix and frequency of data collection initiatives needed to meet the
predefined data requirements; (ii) an integrated statistical data base, that
provides data management system for different data sources (censuses, surveys,
administrative data), using common definitions and classifications and ensuring
that only one number is agreed as official statistics; (iii) a master sampling
frame, that is the basis for selecting the sample of all agriculture-related
surveys across the national statistical system, thus allowing coordinated data collections. Little guidance is currently available on buiding a Master Sample
Frame for agricultural surveys in different country contexts. The FAO and UNFPA
Guidelines for Linking Population and Housing Censuses with Agricultura
Censuses aim to fill this gap. This paper draws on the Guidelines and country
reports to examine how the agricultural data collected through the Population
Census can contribute to building a Master Sample Frame for agriculture
censuses and surveys, with illustrations from the recent experience of Mozambique.
Keywords: Master sampling frames, population and housing census, agricultural census, sample design
