Picture: The Permanent Secretary for Agriculture Dr Vinesh Kumar and the Chief Executive Officer of FBOS Ms. Maria Musudroka at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Raiwaqa

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBOS) on establishing and enhancing the framework for the exchange of data key to socio-economic indicators.

The MoU was signed by the Permanent Secretary for Agriculture Dr Vinesh Kumar and the Chief Executive Officer of FBOS Ms. Maria Musudroka at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Raiwaqa on Thursday.

Dr Vinesh Kumar said the Ministry has been looking forward to this partnership in recent years, especially with the need to focus on forward planning, strengthening data collation particularly on placing greater emphasis on evidence-based approaches to better inform the sector.

“The Government through the Ministry of Agriculture is mandated to provide food, nutrition, and income security and employment to support broad-based economic sector growth, hence with this agreement, the Ministry will work collectively with FBOS to establish and enhance the framework for the exchange of data between the parties and support and collaborate with each other in advancing the work of either party for socio-economic development of the country.”

In this agreement, the two parties will be able to access MoA data to significantly improve the quality and timeliness of inputs to key socio-economic indicators such as the Gross Domestic Product.

“The Ministry is closely working with the farmers, exporters, and the corporate sector to expand commercial agriculture and in doing so, increase national income as well as assist in creating employment,” said Dr Kumar.

He said the Ministry will be able to obtain access to FBOS data particularly the agriculture module of population and housing census data which will therefore improve the frame of the National Agriculture Census and reduce the cost of preparation.

“We at the Ministry must seize this opportunity by ensuring that we collect, analyze and disseminate critical Agricultural statistics for use by all stakeholders with a common vision for agricultural expansion, growth and development,” said Dr Kumar.

The Chief Executive Officer of FBOS Ms. Maria Musudroka said the MoU is part of a process for the department in engaging with the data providers and users as per the FBOS purpose for the year 2022-23.

“This marks a milestone in laying out the initial foundation of working with the Ministry of Agriculture in realising that the value of data and its governance is only important if there is increased access to needed data for MoA and FBOS,” said Ms. Musudroka.

The MoU will strengthen collaboration between the MoA and FBOS through capacity building, implementation of robust data collection methodologies, exchange of data, and more redefined socio-economic indicators. 

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