First digital agri-census programme launched

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), on Monday, launched a comprehensive training programme titled ‘First Digital Integrated Count’ for Census Master Trainers (CMTs) as part of the country’s 7th Agricultural Census. The training, which began at the National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), aims to equip 311 CMTs with the necessary skills to train 6,500 enumerators and 1,368 supervisors across 160 districts nationwide, a news release said.

This milestone marks Pakistan’s first-ever digital and integrated census of agricultural lands, crops, livestock, and machinery. On the occasion, Chief Statistician Dr Naeemuz Zafar emphasised the significance of collecting data on crops, livestock, and machinery for informed decision-making and GDP contribution. The training programme, conducted in four groups, would standardise concepts and ensure data quality and reliability. The field operations, including the enumeration of large holdings, are scheduled from August to October 2024.