TANJUNG MALIM: The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has conducted engagement sessions with almost all states on the implementation of the 2024 Agricultural Census, which is expected to commence in July next year.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the census would involve state governments, enforcement agencies and various stakeholders.
"This large-scale census will cover households and business organisations involved in agricultural activities, including food and commodity crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, logging and forestry.
"The main information from this census will include the demographic aspects of agricultural holdings, land area, irrigation systems, workers, agro-tourism, financing facilities, income and asset expenditure, among others," he told reporters at a press conference after officiating the Malaysian Greening Programme in conjunction with the 2024 Agricultural Census held at the Sigma Hall of the Malaysia Statistics Training Institute (ILSM) here today.
Earlier, Mohd Uzir, together with Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) director-general Dr Ismail Parlan as well as over 300 participants, planted 350 seedlings in a 1.7-acre area near Sigma Hall.
Among the species planted were guava, cermai, beruas, sentul, jering, pelung, gajus, kapur, kantan, palau senkawan air, meranti tembaga and meranti seraya.
Mohd Uzir said the census is comprehensive and focuses on issues involving the imbalance between funding acquisition and production output by industry players in the agricultural sector.
"For example, based on our findings, there are (industry players) receiving assistance from 10 different agencies in the field they are involved in.
"We do not prevent this from happening, but their production needs to align with what is allocated," he said.
On today's programme, he said it was in collaboration with FRIM and aimed to support the government's commitment to environmental sustainability while raising awareness of green areas as a national treasure.
Mohd Uzir said he was pleased with the initiative, considering it part of DOSM's social responsibility, which he said was aimed at cultivating a sense of ownership and shared responsibility for the Malaysian Greening Programme initiated through the 100 Million Tree-Planting Campaign launched in 2021. – BERNAMA