1. FAO Statistics Division 7 July 2008
CONFERENCE ON DATA QUALITY FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ROME, JULY 2008
Development of Metadata Framework for National Agricultural Statistics: Recent Experience in Asia and Middle East, and Plans for Expansion to Other Regions
FAO Statistics Division
7 July 2008

2. Preparation of Country Reports
Questionnaires
Annotated Outline:
National System of Agricultural Statistics
Major Domains of Selected Indicators of Agric. Stat.
Major Data Sources
Presentation at APCAS 21

3. Consultation and Feedbacks from Countries
Initial draft country reports reviewed by BAS/FAO Committee: comments
Modified (First) draft were discussed at Workshop, in Manila in 2006:
Gaps
Problems and difficulties
After workshop, countries revised again their reports
Revised Reports discussed at Focal Points Meeting of RDES, in Cambodia in March 2007.

4. Preliminary Review of Country Reports
Major publications:
yearbooks on agric. stat
Quarterly indicators of agric stat (price)
Occasional report on agricultural census/survey
Chapters on agric. stat. in national statist. yearbooks
Trade statistics

5. Preliminary Review of Country Reports (2)
Major Domains:
production; price; foreign trade; agricultural inputs; agric. credits; food consumption; rural communities and infrastructure
Data Sources:
agricultural census
agricultural production survey

6. Relationship Between Major Domains and Data Sources
In general, agricultural surveys and census produce data for the domains of production, prices, employment

7. Plans for Expansion to Other Regions
The FAO Metadata Framework will be implemented in other regions started with 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) under the BMG-funded CountrySTAT project.
One of the main activities in the CountrySTAT project is to analyze the situation in countries and prepare benchmark reports on food and agriculture data and metadata in the countries.
The Metadata Framework will provide the overall framework for the preparation of these country reports.
These benchmark reports will provide reference for evaluation of the impact of project in terms of data accessibility, data quality, and data dissemination.

8. CONCLUSION
FAO metadata framework provides a possible answer to “What should adequate Metadata be?”
Metadata helps users interpret agric. stat.
Metadata framework is useful for producers to improve the food and agric. stat. system
To obtain good metadata, joint efforts are required by all concerned parties
Post country reports to countries’ RDES page

9. THANK YOU