Govt updating method for rice data collection

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) are preparing new methodology to provide more accurate statistical data on the country's rice production.

Minister of Agriculture Soleh Solahuddin said on Tuesday that more accurate, reliable and timely statistical information on rice production and other agricultural products was more crucial today because inaccurate estimates would mislead the public and result in the failure of the government's food programs.

"Reliable data is needed to set an accurate forecast for imports of rice and other foodstuffs. We have found that there were disparities in previous agricultural statistics that need to be addressed to avoid further problems in the coming years," Soleh said after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the ministry and the Japanese government.

Soleh said the methodology in the collection of data on the farming area and yield used to forecast rice and food crop production had been introduced in 1972 and needed to be revised because conditions in the country had changed considerably.

Under the MOU, the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide experts to improve statistical methodology and train the ministry and BPS officials to conduct better surveys.

The MOU was signed by the ministry's secretary-general Syarifuddin Karama and the Minister of Embassy at the Japanese embassy, Norio Hattori.

Soleh said the MOU was an extension of the existing cooperation in agricultural statistics technology improvement and the training project, which will ended in October 1999. The previous cooperation covered rice and crops production estimation in Cianjur and Sukabumi regencies in West Java. (gis)