Prime Minister Hun Sen calls on all owners of agricultural enterprises and farming households to provide accurate, complete and honest data to the officials who will be conducting a large-scale census of the industry throughout April.

In his special address to the nation on March 23, he said the 2023 agricultural census is only the second of its type to be carried out. He said the decennial census will collect and collate important information on the agricultural sector and will provide baseline data for future policies, strategies, action plans and projects.

“Accurate data will enable the government to develop the sector as well as the economy as a whole. It will also impact on social services and people’s welfare,” he said.

The law mandates that all owners of agricultural enterprises and farming households must cooperate with census and provide data.

“This is a large and historic task for the nation. The statistics and data we gather will shape the future of the Kingdom,” he added.

During a March 21 training workshop for census officials, Minister of Planning Chhay Than said the data collected would be invaluable in defining the national strategic plans needed to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs).

“The 2023 census will be the most important to be conducted in recent year. It will provide input in formulating national agricultural policy, the economy, the environment, society, climate change and the welfare of the people,” he added.

He said it will also provide important indicators monitoring and assessing the government’s economic development programme, the National Strategic Development Plan, the National Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Cambodia Sustainable Development Goals (CSDGs) Framework 2016-2030.

“This census follows a 2013 edition, but will be on a much larger scale. Current estimates are that the Kingdom’s population is over 17 million, about 3.9 million households. There are more than 2.7 million farming households in Cambodia, a significant percentage,” he said.