The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will conduct the nationwide 2022 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) from 04 September 2023 to 25 October 2023. In BARMM, the PSA Regional Statistical Services Office is set to jump-start the census-taking with a Press Launch on 04 September 2023, 8:00 AM at the Surya Hall, Alnor Mall (Robinsons), Cotabato City.

The conduct of CAF was pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 591 which authorized the then National Statistics Office (NSO) before the merging of the four major statistical agencies in the country into PSA by virtue of the Republic Act No. 10625, also known as the Philippine Statistics Act of 2013. Moreover, Executive Order (EO) 352 issued on 01 July 1996 on the “Designation of Statistical Activities that will Generate Critical Data for Decision-Making of the Government and the Private Sector” mandated the conduct of a census on agriculture and fisheries every ten (10) years.

Basically, the CAF gathers data on the structures and characteristics of farms such as size, tenure of holdings, land use, areas planted to crops, production and number of livestock and poultry, and distribution and number of households engaged in farming, fishing and related activities.

In line with this, PSA BARMM calls on all government agencies and instrumentalities, local government units (LGUs), agriculture and fisheries stakeholders and the general public to support the conduct of the 2022 CAF. The PSA has also lobbied resolutions through the Regional Statistics Committee (RSCom), an inter-agency special committee the under the Bangsamoro Economic and Development Council (BEDC), which formally adopted series of resolutions enjoining support from the BARMM government, RSCom-member agencies, ministries and the LGUs.

To rally the support of the general public, the Office of the President issued Proclamation No. 272 Series of 2023 which declared the month of September 2023 as the National Agriculture and Fisheries Census Month.

ENGR. AKAN G TULA
OIC-Regional Director
EDFE/MAG/SGU