A NEW census of the island's agricultural sector is to be carried out by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) starting next week. It should be completed in July.

Agriculture and Lands Minister, Roger Clarke, said the census "will provide valuable data that can be used to inform agricultural policy planning, implementation and monitoring." He said it would form the baseline for the development of a 10-year integrated agricultural statistics programme, as well as, "chart the way forward towards growth and competitiveness within the sector."

Speaking also at the launch of the exercise on Tuesday at the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Hope Gardens in St. Andrew, Merville Anderson, director of field services at STATIN noted that "the census of agriculture should be seen as part of an integrated agricultural statistics system carried out not in isolation, but as a component of the national statistics system."

The last census was carried out in 1996, which showed that there were 187,791 farms in Jamaica, covering some 400,000 hectares. It showed that St. Elizabeth and Clarendon respectively were the largest agricultural areas in the island. The census also showed that approximately 87,000 hectares of prime farm land were unutilised. This has served as the information base for the development of the Ministry's policies and programmes for the past 11 years.

The exercise will target the main areas of: Bath and Port Morant in St. Thomas; Highgate, St. Mary; Claremont, St. Ann; Clarks Town, Trelawny; Grange Hill and Darliston in Westmoreland; Balaclava and Junction in St. Elizabeth; Porus, Christiana and Spaldings in Manchester and Frankfield, Chapelton and Lionel Town in Clarendon.