June 29, (THEWILL) – The National Bureau of Statistics, has kicked off an Agricultural Census in Cross River State, with a three day training of enumerators.
Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, the statistician General of the Federation and Chief Executive of the NBS, declared the training open in Calabar.
He said the census, which was last conducted 30 years ago, will help the government and policy makers obtain accurate data in the agricultural sector.
Prince Adeniran said, “We are here to kickstart training of enumerators for the National Agricultural Sample Census.
“As a citizen of Nigeria/Cross River State, this census on agriculture is to provide us with data that the government of the state can use.
“It will also provide the government with information about the situation of food insecurity, so they can adequately plan for the citizens”, he said.
He said all the gap in data as it relates to agriculture will be filled during the course of the census.
He added that the agency will deploy the Computer Assisted Personal Interview Device to enhance the quality of data generated.
In his remarks, Jacob Udida, the permanent secretary, State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the state government will use the data generated to form the basis of what will be done.
He added that the engagement is coming at a crucial time in the state as 90 percent of its industries are agro based.
The training is taking place simultaneously in all the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
