ISLAMABAD  -  The federal government Thursday an­nounced to conduct 7th Agricultural Census of Pakistan in June 2024. After the success­ful completion of 7th Population & Housing Census (1st ever digital census), Pakistan Bu­reau of Statistics is in the process to conduct the 7th Agricultural Census throughout the country, said spokesperson PBS here. PBS has decided to integrate the Agricultural, Livestock, and Agricultural Machinery Cen­suses into one according to the best interna­tional practices and guidelines of the FAO. 

To initiate the process, PBS has started meetings with partner organizations and provincial stakeholders, said the spokesper­son. The participation of stakeholders helped in diversified perspectives, identifying needs, and addressing the issues that may occur during the field operation of the Agricultural Census. The first provincial meeting was con­vened on 1st February, 2024 at Provincial Census Coordination Center (P3C), Sindh, PBS, Karachi under the chair of Dr Naeem-uz-Zafar, Chief Census Commissioner, Pakistan. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Member (SS/RM), Dr Naveed Iqbal, JACC, PBS, Dr Hizbul­lah Bhutto, Director, Livestock Department, Dr Ali Nawaz Channar, Director, Agriculture Extension, from Government of Sindh, Izat Ali Chachar, Sindh Bureau of Statistics, Mun­war Ali Ghanghro, Director (Incahrge) PBS, Provincial Office, Karachi, Azizullah Bhatti, Director (DP), and Shakeel Qadeer Director (CPMU), PBS, Karachi, attended the meet­ing. After wellcome remarks by the chair, Muhammad Sarwar Gondal delivered a pre­sentation and shared complete framework of the census. It has been highlighted that the agriculture sector contributes 23% share in GDP and updated data on agriculture is need of the nation to plan and identify the resourc­es that will further contribute to the maximi­zation of the production. PBS has planned to conduct the 7th Agricultural Census with close cooperation of provincial & district administration by engaging the staff and us­ing the resources of last Population Census. Two-tier training has been scheduled for the supervisors and enumerators. The plan for training and resources allocation has already been devised and shared with the house. By using the Tablets of last Population Census and by capitalizing the infrastructure, the utilization of resources will be optimized. He said that the digitalization of all the lead­ing censuses and surveys will ensure the transparency, accountability, and efficiency in data collection and its further dissemi­nation for end users. All the participants from partner organizations have lauded the efforts of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for such a great initiative of conducting the Agricultural Census after a lapse of thirteen years and have extended their full support to the national cause which will have far reaching impacts on the national economy.