SECOND CARICOM WORKSHOP ON

ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS ST. VINCENT

07 - 08 April, 2014

Presenter: Olympia Joseph Central Statistical Office Saint Lucia

Agricultural Land- Agenda

• Definitions of Indicators• Method of Computation• Data Sources• Method of Data collection• Data Available/Data Gaps• Recommendations for Improvements

Definitions of Agricultural Land

Agricultural Land refers to activities – such as growing crops, raising livestock or cultivating fish – carried out on the land making up the holding with the intention of obtaining products and/or benefits.

Definitions of Agricultural Land cont’d

• Arable Land refers to land dedicated to temporary crop inclusive of fallow land.

• Land under permanent or medium term crops : it is the land that during the reference year was mainly planted with crops which occupy it for a long period of time and which do not have to be planted after each harvest. It includes all tree crops (bearing or not) banana, plantains, etc. In case of permanent crops inter-planted with temporary crops that land was reported here.

Definitions of Agricultural Land cont’d

• Land under permanent meadows and pastures: it is the land used permanently (for five years or more) to grow herbaceous forage crops, through cultivation or naturally (wild prairie or grazing land). Sometimes, livestock feed on natural pastures on which trees and shrubs are grown; in this case the land will be reported here only if the growing of forage is the most important use of the land. In case livestock is grazing under permanent crops (like coconut), that land should not be reported here but in permanent or medium term crops.

Definitions of Agricultural Land cont’d

• Resting (fallow) land: this is the land at prolonged rest before re-cultivation. The land is classified here if it has been (or is expected to be) kept at rest for at least one agricultural year and less than five year. Otherwise the land must be classified according to its main use: land under temporary crops, pastures, woodland or other land.

Method of Computation

Unfortunately the method of computation was not available since this presentation is based on information extracted from the 2007 St. Lucia Census of Agriculture Final Report.

Copy of this report can be accessed online at http://www.govt.lc/www/publications/AgricultureCensus2007.pdf

Data Sources

• Census of Agriculture, 2007, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries,

• Co-operation & Rural Development

Method of data collection

• Conduct of National Census

Data Available /Data Gaps

• 1974, 1986, 1996, 2007

Data Available /Data Gaps

CLASSES OF LAND USE(Reclassified)

CENSUS YEARS

1974 1986 1996 2007

Total 72,001 58,925 51,328 30,204

1. Agricultural Land 49,028 48,849 42,880 24,530

1.1 Crop Land and permanent meadows and pastures 20,492 9,680 8,447 7,525

1.2 Permanent/medium term crops

28,536 39,169 34,433 17,005

2. Forest and Woodland 19,002 8,322 6,810 3,713

3. Other Land 3,971 1,754 1,638 1,961

Data Source: 2007 St. Lucia Census of Agriculture Final Report

N.B For comparative purposes among the four census years the uses of the land was reclassified.

I thank you