OREANDA-NEWS. June 03, 2013. The National Bureau of Statistics presents preliminary results of the first Moldovan general agricultural census, held in spring, 2011.

According to Deputy Director General of NBS Vitalie Valcov, results of the census will be helpful for developing public agricultural policies, for monitoring and appraising agriculture development programs, for consolidating the national system of agricultural statistics thanks to new data and information to be included in the Register of Agricultural Activities and for conducting new statistic studies in this area.

The census, held between March 15 and April 15, 2011, became the most comprehensive research in the area of agricultural statistics, carried out in line with EU methodological standards and UNO recommendations on holding a census in 2006-2015. Earlier, censuses were carried out in separate sectors of the national agriculture; the researchers appraised national perennial plantations (1994); national livestock (1992) and sown areas (1985).

The general agricultural census-2011 includes information about a structure of agricultural producers, about labour force, agricultural lands and machinery capacities (a number of fruit trees and vineyards, a total number of cattle and poultry, use of technologies and farming machines, a number of people employed in the sector, etc). The census of 2011 is to be part of the World Agricultural Census 2010. According to Valcov, final results of the census on the national and local level will be published in two volumes in June, 2013.

Holding the census was spent on about MDL 68 million. The census preparatory works were funded from the state budget and by governments of Sweden, Romania, the EU and the USA. FAO recommends holding the general agricultural census once every ten years.