Suriname launches Sixth Agricultural Census with FAO Technical Support

The Government of Suriname shared the results of its Sixth Agricultural Census last week, conducted with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The data collected from this exercise will help the country revise and strengthen its agriculture policy – seventeen years after the last census – addressing a critical statistical gap. FAO recommends countries perform an agricultural census every ten years to best monitor and manage trends in the sector.

FAO worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV) towards a goal of building Suriname’s internal capacity following the process outlined in the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020 (WCA 2020), establishing validated datasets, standardized processing protocols and reproducible analytical workflows to improve the availability of essential evidence for agricultural and rural development policies. The project advances progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger, supporting evidence-based decision making by public and private actors to influence long-term poverty reduction and food security; and SDG 5: Gender Equality, giving Suriname its first real data on land access among women.

Mike Noersalim, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, said Suriname is ready to scale up, modernize, and make a substantial contribution to the regional food security agenda, and with this solid baseline as a starting point, the country could develop even more robust, targeted programs that yield sustainable returns for local farmers and the national economy.

“The statistical report we are launching today is the living story of our fertile lands, the unwavering dedication of our farmers, our national food security, and the direction of our shared future. We are not turning a blind eye to reality. We are currently navigating a complex socio-economic landscape shaped by climate change, market disruptions, and evolving international requirements. In times of transformation, we cannot rely on intuition alone; we need a reliable compass. This agricultural census report is that compass,” he said.

FAO’s technical support covered all stages of the census process, including design, frame development, questionnaire preparation, computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) implementation, data validation, tabulation and analytical reporting – some processes which were applied in Suriname for the first time, resulting in enhanced data quality, improved operational efficiency and strengthened national capacity to conduct, monitor and maintain future statistical operations. This knowledge exchange ensured that by the end of the project, national staff had the understanding and ability to manage data processing workflows and prepare statistical outputs, including quality control and analytical tables.

Dr Renata Clarke, FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean, said FAO was proud to walk alongside the ministry on this journey. “This Census is not merely an administrative exercise. It is the foundation upon which sound agricultural policy is built. Without reliable, current, and comprehensive data, governments are left planning for a sector they can no longer clearly see. With it, policymakers, investors, researchers, and farmers themselves gain a shared, evidence-based picture of where the sector stands and where it needs to go. Today, Suriname takes a decisive step toward closing that gap.”

She also noted the digital innovations that underpinned the enumeration process: “For the first time in Suriname's history, this census was carried out using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing, hosted entirely on infrastructure managed by the Ministry itself. Members of the Census Working Group and Ministry staff were trained not only to use this system, but to administer and troubleshoot it independently. This capacity remains here in Suriname, long after FAO's technical advisors have moved on. That, to us, is the true measure of successful technical cooperation – not simply the delivery of a product, but the strengthening of national teams to carry the work forward on their own.

The success of the project underscored the continued collaboration and cooperation between the Government of Suriname and the FAO. Overall, agricultural census project has significantly enhanced Suriname’s statistical evidence base, modernized data collection, processing and analysis systems, and established a sustainable foundation for integrated agricultural surveys, ensuring that agricultural policy and planning can be informed by accurate, timely and reliable data.