Censuses of agriculture and COVID-19: Global situation and lessons

Abstract

A review of the status of censuses of agriculture in 150 countries and territories shows that the impact of COVID-19 has not discriminated between developed and developing countries. However, some countries have fared better than others when faced with the challenges posed by the pandemic. Earlier improvements in national statistical systems, a wide range of ICT solutions and the sourcing of census data from administrative registers have enabled these countries to significantly reduce their reliance on physical contact for tasks such as final preparation of field activities, training and data collection. The experience has confirmed the usefulness of these efforts and will likely further accelerate the pace of innovation, even though most of these countries expect that farmers’ non-response rates will be higher than in the past. At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis has been a lesson to other countries on the need to improve the working environment, diversify census data collection and training methods, and make use of administrative registers in future census rounds.