Cambodian first ever agriculture, business censuses to begin next year

Thursday, March 20, 2008;

PHNOM PENH, Mar 21, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Cambodia will hold its first ever agriculture census in 2009, and a business establishment census in 2011, local media reported Friday, citing officials from the Planning Ministry's National Institute of Statistics (NIS).
The agriculture census, which will be held in the second half of 2009, will gather agriculture-related data from 2008, Seng Soeun, deputy director-general of NIS, was quoted by the Mekong Times newspaper as saying.
"The agriculture census is different to the recent population census because it will focus on such areas as agricultural land, crop fields, livestock and various type of forest land," Seng Soeun said.
"It will cost around 3 million U.S. dollars, of which 10 percent has been pledge by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), with the World Bank and Australia also making pledges," he added.
The first ever business census will be conducted in the first half of 2011, gathering data from 2010, said Mick Kanthul, director of NIS's Economic Statistics Department, adding that considerable work will be involved.
The census, which will cost about 2 million U.S. dollars, will gather data on all types of business, their number of employees, wages and other salient information, he said.
Both the agriculture and business censuses will be conducted at intervals of 10 years.