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5th 10-year agri census to start from 17th

LAHORE: The fifth decennial agriculture census will be held across the country from January 17 (Monday).

The Agriculture Census Organisation (ACO) has so far conducted four censuses in the country in 1960, 1972, 1980 and 1990.

The exercise coincides with the census programme of the Rome-based food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations being held to gauge the world food and fibre production and needs.

"The Data regarding crops, land utilisation, irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides off-take and livestock will be collected during this six-month-long exercise," Chief Agriculture Census Commissioner, Akbar Ali Momin, said on Wednesday.

During the first phase, i.e. from January 17 to mid-March, the census would be carried out in the Punjab province (excluding Murree, Kotli Satian and Kahuta), entire Sindh, temperate parts of the NWFP and Balochistan. Momin said that the census in the cold areas of Punjab, NWFP, Balochistan, Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir would be held from mid-April to mid-June.

He said that data would be collected on subjects like operational land holding, land utilisation, irrigation, orchards, pest control, major and minor crops, use of fertilizers, use of insecticides, use of agriculture livestock population, investment for agriculture and level of education among the tillers. APP