Minister of Planning Chhay Than urged all census inspectors and interviewers to pay close attention to their work in order for the 2023 agricultural census to be successful.

Than made the call as he addressed a training course for 47 agricultural census inspectors and interviewers on March 30 in Kampot province.

He said that with the month-long nationwide census set to start on April 1, all officials should be prepared to play their parts.

“They should be disciplined, observe professional ethics and take full responsibility for their tasks,” he said.

“All supervisors and interviewers who have been trained by the planning ministry shall be responsible for their own conduct. They must cooperate with the provincial planning departments across the country to carry out the work of the census, in order for the results to be reliable,” he added.

The minister also called on the owners of commercial agricultural operations and smallholder farmers alike to provide accurate, adequate and timely information to census officers.

The 2023 Agricultural Census is technically supported by UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and fully funded by the Cambodian government. The census covers all agriculture activities within the Kingdom.

Cambodia’s estimated population is more than 17 million, made up of about 3.9 million households. It is estimated that over 2.7 million of them are engaged in agriculture.