Q1. What is a Census of Agriculture?

Answer: The Census of Agriculture is the complete enumeration of all households and institutions involved in agriculture and collection of information on the agriculture activities they are engaged in.

Q2. What is the objective of the Census of Agriculture?

Answer: To provide accurate and reliable information on agricultural activities of the country and make the results available to policy makers and other users to facilitate planning and research.

Q3. Why is the Census of Agriculture important?

 Answer: The Census of Agriculture is important for several reasons.

• It provides policy makers with information to better identify, prepare, implement and evaluate development programmes, particularly in the economic sphere.
• It provides other key stakeholders including researchers, students, industrialists, international organisations, non-governmental and non-profit organisations, investors (businessmen and businesswomen), with complete and reliable agricultural statistics for research, programming interventions, investment decisions, planning and monitoring.
• It provides information for the consideration of environmental issues in the development of programmes and projects, especially at the community level.
• It provides benchmark data for assessing the results of future statistical enquiries/surveys.
• It provides information that will enable the estimation of the true size of the contribution of agriculture to the economy.

vii. It provides an updated sampling frame for the conduct of future agricultural surveys in the country.

Q4. Who are the main users of agriculture data?

Answer: Government, industrialists, international organisations, non-governmental and non-profit making organisations, and also investors (Businessmen and Businesswomen) and Researchers.

Q5. What is the scope of the 2018 Ghana Census of Agriculture (GCA)?

Answer: In the 2018 Census of Agriculture, the interest is to enumerate all holders engaged in the production of: all types of food crops; all types of livestock; all types of aquaculture in both inland and offshore waters; and all types of tree planting activities as well as those who do fishing* in both inland and offshore waters. 

*Fishing is not an agricultural activity by Food and Agriculture Organisation’s definition. However, Ghana has added it as a key related activity that will provide information for the estimation of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Q6. Which institutions are implementing the Census of Agriculture?

Answer: Ghana Statistical Service and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture are the main implementing agencies, with FAO providing technical assistance.

Q7. Who are the target groups of the Census of Agriculture?

Answer: The entire population of Ghana. At the initial stage, everybody residing in Ghana – both citizens and non-citizens will be called upon to respond to questions that will help identify agriculture holders and institutions in the country. Next, agricultural holders will be interviewed on their activities – what they are doing and how they do it/them.

     Q8. When was the last time, a Census of Agriculture was conducted in Ghana?

Answer: In 1985 (33 years ago).

Q9. Why has it taken such a long a time to conduct the Census of Agriculture, when it is recommended that one should be taken every ten years?

Answer: Lack of funding (A Census of Agriculture is an expensive undertaking and requires a huge amount of resources).

     Q10. When will the field data collection take place?      

     Answer: From 30^th April to 31^st July, 2018.

    Q11. What is the reference period for which information will be collected?

Answer: Information will be collected on all agricultural activities from March, 2017 to February, 2018.

   Q12. Are logistics for the Census available and adequate to ensure that the  

           Census is successful?

      

  Answer: Yes, all logistics required for the Census operation have been made available   by Government.

Q13. How would information from farm owners who may not be available at the time of data collection be obtained?

Answer: If the farm owners themselves are not available when the census officers visit their households, the caretaker of the farm can answer on their behalf.

Q14. How will the field officers be checked to ensure that they are doing the work well?

Answer: The following groups will be on the field to ensure that the correct information is being collected.

• Field Supervisors
• Monitors from Ghana Statistical Service and Ministry of Food and Agriculture
• Quality Assurance teams
• Members of the Census Steering Committee and GSS Governing Board
• Independent monitors from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UNFPA and other development partners.

Q15.  Will the managers of the Census keep information that an individual will provide confidential?

Answer: Yes. Under the law establishing the Ghana Statistical Service, PNDC Law 135, information collected by GSS is to be kept confidential and used only for statistical purposes. Individual level data will not be given out to anybody including the individual who provided that data.  To this end, field officers will be made to swear an oath of secrecy before they are deployed to the field.

Q16. Is it mandatory for agriculture holders and institutions to provide information to the Census of Agriculture field workers?

Answer: Yes. The Ghana Statistical Service Law makes it mandatory for all persons or institutions to provide data to GSS on request.