Agricultural Statistics are Vital: The case of Lebanon

June 19, 2019

Riad Fouad Saade, CREAL, Lebanon

 

 

 

 

Some entrepreneurs manage their businesses without paying proper attention to their financial and accounting figures. Others consider these figures as essential tools for a successful and sustainable management. This applies to small, medium and large enterprises, but also and especially this should apply to the State.

During the civil war in Lebanon between 1975 and 1990, the country was on “economic survival mode” and cared little about statistics. With post war era, many misleading statistics figures were used lacking serious references.

Although the “Lebanese National Accounts” have received serious and deep consideration, updated after the war by the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), CREAL survey of projects in the agricultural sector show that very few have used the figures produced by the CAS “Lebanese National Accounts “as an essential basis for the conception, development, monitoring and evaluation of the results of these projects.

The question, therefore, is: How can Lebanese Authorities and foreign donors, conceive rescue and/or development plans, general or sectorial, in the absence of reliable figures? The answer is that they cannot, and the data are often times outside the public institutions.

We can learn from a quick history of agriculture statistics in Lebanon—and the interaction between the public sector and the private firm I lead: The Center for Research and Agriculture Studies in Lebanon (CREAL in its French acronym).

CREAL, founded by Fouad C. Saade, inherited the statistical works started in 1942 at the Higher Council of food supply to the Allied Armies and Civil populations in Lebanon and Syria. From 1951, CREAL published a yearly report about Lebanese Agricultural Production. Until 1973, this report adopted Ministry of Agriculture reliable figures adding to it the touch of realism that Fouad Saade experienced in the field.

Before the Lebanese civil war, Agricultural statistics were administered in an impeccable way, at the Ministry of Agriculture by Messrs Gauthier and Baz. They issued a yearly agricultural statistics report. This came to a halt in 1973, for reasons still unknown. This was simultaneous to the Central Administration for Statistics, stopping its activities.

Between 1973 and 1981 in the absence of reliable official figures, yearly reports of CREAL, now headed by me, were produced based on estimations. In 1981, the Continuous Information Agricultural Program (CIAP) was conceived and launched by CREAL, its first publication was a booklet: “Realities about Lebanese Agriculture” (1981). Between 1981 and 2001, Lebanese Authorities and International Organizations adopted CREAL statistics.

In 1977, following the first two years of the war in Lebanon, a UNDP/FAO Mission conducted a Study about the Reconstruction and Development of the Lebanese Agriculture – but its recommendations could not be implemented as the war was to continue for another 12 years.  Between 1981 and 2001, the Lebanese authorities and the International Organizations adopted exclusively CREAL agriculture statistics figures.

Starting from 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture resumed its publication of agricultural statistics, compelling all actors in the country to use that source of data.  However, many operators and specialists in the field consider that these official statistics are not constant, and either incomplete or sometimes incorrect.  Since 2001, CREAL has been in contact with all operators at the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO, EU, WB and other Organizations. CREAL participates in the inception of all official statistical projects. We always point out the glaring errors, which are respectfully noted with appreciation for our work and competence, but this does not always result in changes in the published official figures.

External support has been extensive. In 1995, the agricultural global census project as launched. Financed by the World Bank and Executed by FAO. Time span: 1996-2007.  It included field surveys and processing of results (up to the year 2000), publication of a census for the year 1998.  Additional projects led to the publication of 9 annual production surveys (through 2010), and the introduction of the Geographical Information System (GIS) at the Ministry of Agriculture and published an Agricultural Atlas (2005) and other studies were published through 2007.  This included Value  Chain  Monographs  about:  Olive,  Cereals, Grapes, etc.  Unfortunately, this effort ended in 2011 with the end of FAO support.

In 2010, the project of the “Agricultural Development Observatory” was considered. Financed by the Italian Government (FAO GCP/LEB/020/EC)[1], its objective was to make available to the decision makers, all data needed for a proper management of the Agricultural sector. Its time span was 2010-2012. The “Agricultural Development Observatory” works were never launched and negotiations with the donor ended in using the funds to launch the second Agricultural Census (of 2010), managed by FAO.  At end of 2012 with the end of the failed “Agricultural Development Observatory” all data were transferred from the FAO managed project to the Department of Statistics reporting to the Directorate of Studies at the Ministry of Agriculture.  In 2014, FAO launched the project: "Strengthening and Modernizing Agricultural Statistics System" (FAO GCP/LEB/023/EC)[2], executed by the Ministry of Agriculture. Project financing: European Union. Time span: 3 years 2014-2017. Target: publish again the yearly Agricultural Production Surveys. Initial results were presented in June 2017, but the final results (of year 2015) are still awaited.

It is in such an environment that CREAL continues its activity initiated 76 years ago in 1942, constantly relying on its extensive presence in the field and on improving its statistical model to reach most accurate data.  We are particularly pleased by the fact that we are demonstrating a working private-public partnership with the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) in the use of data collected and analyzed by CREAL—and now, since 2013, recognized and used exclusively by the CAS.

 

[1] Project Symbol: GCP/LEB/020/ITA, Project title: Lebanese National Observatory for Agricultural and Rural Development, Start date: 2009, End date: 2012, Project status: Active

[2] Project Symbol: GCP/LEB/023/EC, Project title: Support to the MOA in strengthening and modernizing the Agricultural Statistics System, Start date 2014-02-03, End date 2019-06-11, Project status: Ongoing