South Africa, and indeed many other countries, has in the past years been in the
process of developing her agricultural statistics strategy. The agricultural
statistics strategy was developed to guide to all matters related to the collection,
processing, analysis and dissemination of agricultural statistics. A country’s
agricultural statistics are aimed at addressing planning, policy, evaluation and
developmental issues related to the agricultural sector and the country at large.
The first motive for a country to develop an agricultural strategy is, naturally, to
address these national issues. South Africa is no exception in this regard.
However, there were other factors, which catalysed the development of the
strategy. Firstly, to align the country’s agricultural statistics processes to the
Global Strategy for the improvement of agricultural and rural statistics as
specified by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and its partners. This
process involved the development of a National Agricultural Statistical
Subsystem and the integration of agriculture and rural statistics into the country’s
National Statistical System. Secondly, in order to reduce duplication and
therefore wastage of resources within the public and private sector, it was
important to conduct an audit of all agricultural statistics producers in the country.
Thirdly, traditionally, agricultural statistics in the country largely excluded small
scale and subsistence (smallholder) agriculture. The strategy had to address the
exclusion. And lastly, a strategy had to be developed to address capacity
development and data quality (also quantity) challenges connected to agricultural
statistics in the country.
This paper is a review of the strategy development process in South Africa and
provides insight into the more fine-tuned process behind the design of the
agricultural statistics strategy in a diverse and large country like South Africa. It
provides the major steps undertaken from the initial study, formation of the
National Agricultural Statistics Subsystem (NASS) through to the incorporation of
the NASS into the South African National Statistical System (SANSS). The paper
is also a reflection of subsequent developments after first paper on the topic was
submitted to the 5th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics held in
October 2010 in Kampala, Uganda.