2009 NATIONAL AGRICULTURE CENSUS PROJECT (Migration from Manual to Digital) Presentation to the 2011 Pacific Island Countries GIS and RS User Conference SPC Nabua, Suva.

Outline of Presentation  Definition of Agriculture Census  Background of Agriculture Census program in Fiji  Importance of Agriculture census  Scope of the Agriculture census project  GIS Intervention for the Agriculture Census Framework  Conclusion  Way Forward

A census of agriculture is a statistical operation for collecting, processing and disseminating data on the structure of agriculture, covering the whole or a significant part of the country. Agriculture Census Definition

Background of Agriculture Census Program in Fiji Three National Agriculture Censuses have been conducted in Fiji over the last four decades; 1968, 1978 & Agriculture Program was shelved due to political situation

 It’s the only way to obtain fundamental data on the organizational structure of the agricultural sector.  Structural information of this type has a wide range of uses, such as for the monitoring and analysis of MDGs, rural poverty, food security, the role of women in agriculture and agricultural planning and policy-making.  Reliable current data relating to crop and livestock production for the census year can be useful as a benchmark for improving current crop and livestock statistics.  The Agriculture census provides baseline data needed to help assess the impact of projects/interventions in certain areas. Importance of the Census of Agriculture

Agriculture Census provided the structural data on the agricultural sector both in terms of crops & livestock at National, Divisional, Provincial and district level. SCOPE OF THE 2009 AGRICULTURE CENSUS

Core Data Items Collected in the 2009 Agriculture Census  Farmer Demographics  Land tenure  Acreage  Type of crop and livestock commodities including varieties, breed, age and sex  Production, Sales & Market outlets  Gender  Household agriculture tasks  Farm management & equipment

Agriculture Census Methodology Census Methodology: Multiple Sample Framework which is the combination of Area Frame and List Frame. Area Frame uses topographical maps [1:50,000], aerial photos and Land Use maps List Frame is a list of major agriculture holdings, freehold farms, research station and special farms

GIS Intervention From Manual activities – GIS tools. Activities undertaken are:  Overlaying of FIBOS EA boundaries  Scanning of aerial photos [1994]  Geo-referencing aerial photos  Stratification process of enumeration boundaries  Demarcation of selected segments [physical boundaries]  Digitization of segments [1sq km]  Printing of enlargements

Numbering & Selection of Segments Numbering of the grids

DivisionProvinceRice Area Planted (Has)Rice Area Harvested (Has) CentralNaitasiri Namosi 0.00 Rewa 0.00 Serua 0.00 Tailevu Total WesternBa Nadroga Ra Total NorthernBua Cakaudrove Macuata Total EasternKadavu 0.00 Lau 0.00 Lomaiviti 0.00 Rotuma 0.00 Total 0.00 F I J ITotal NATIONAL AGRICULTURE CENSUS RESULTS – 2009 [Con’t] Rice Area in Hectares

Registered Aerial Photo Overlaid with Physical Boundaries

Example of a Digitized Segment – Rewa Province

Conclusion  2009 Agriculture Census program was completed successfully  GIS tool was an essential intervention to the project  GIS intervention provided a platform for future agriculture survey and census programs

Way Forward 1.Use of GPS units to compliment GIS tools in the establishment of the Fiji Agriculture Statistics System 2.Incorporation of Satelite images [ALOS] to assist: i.Preparation of new agriculture survey enumeration area boundaries ii.Conduct accurate stratification procedures for the classification and calculation of land use percentage on enumeration area boundaries

SATELITE IMAGE - ALOS

DivisionProvinceFarms % of Total FarmsTotal Area (HA)% of Total Area CentralNaitasiri Namosi Rewa Serua Tailevu Total WesternBa Nadroga Ra Total NorthernBua Cakaudrove Macuata Total EasternKadavu Lau Lomaiviti Rotuma Total F I J ITotal NATIONAL AGRICULTURE CENSUS RESULTS – 2009 Total Number of Farms and Total Area in Hectares

DivisionProvinceTotal FarmsTotal Livestock CentralNaitasiri Namosi Rewa Serua Tailevu Total WesternBa Nadroga Ra Total NorthernBua Cakaudrove Macuata Total EasternKadavu Lau Lomaiviti Rotuma Total F I J I NATIONAL AGRICULTURE CENSUS RESULTS – 2009 [Con’t] Total Number of Farms and Total Number of Livestock

DivisionProvinceDalo Area Planted (Ha)Dalo Area Harvested (ha) CentralNaitasiri Namosi Rewa Serua Tailevu Total WesternBa Nadroga Ra Total NorthernBua Cakaudrove Macuata Total EasternKadavu Lau Lomaiviti Rotuma Total F I J ITotal NATIONAL AGRICULTURE CENSUS RESULTS – 2009 [Con’t] Dalo Area in Hectares

Thank you