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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides the preliminary findings of the National Agricultural Statistics Review (NASR). The NASR is a joint project between the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). The NASR is identifying opportunities to improve the National Agricultural Statistical Information System (NASIS) and develop a framework for ongoing assessment, coordination and governance of information needs into the future.

The NASR has proposed a set of enduring goals for Australian agriculture to guide future needs for statistical information. The enduring goals are: Competitive and profitable agriculture sector, Prosperous communities, Sustainable natural resource use, Growing trade and market access and Protecting animal, plant and human health and welfare.

Stakeholders who contributed to the first phase of the NASR included Australian and State/Territory government, industry, academia and the community.

Information needs across stakeholders in the agricultural sector are numerous and varied. Important information needs across stakeholder groups included: production, profitability, business characteristics, productivity, imports and exports, market access, and supply chains. How well information needs are being met also varied between stakeholder groups, with the needs of industry less well met than those of government.

Approximately one-third of stakeholders reported their priority information needs as being fully met. The majority of stakeholders reported their priority information needs as being partially met by existing statistical assets. A small number of stakeholders reported that their needs were not being met at all. In most cases where needs were only partially met, stakeholders indicated specific deficiencies with the statistical asset rather than a complete absence of the asset.

A larger number of statistical assets were reported as being used to inform the ‘Competitive and profitable agriculture sector‘ goal than for any other enduring goal. This reflects a focus of data collections and data use on commodity production volumes and value for agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

The key issues raised through the first phase of stakeholder consultation related to survey burden placed on farmers and a range of data quality issues including relevance, timeliness, accuracy, coherence and accessibility.

The next phase of the NASR will further engage stakeholders in identifying opportunities to reduce respondent burden and improve data quality. Consultation will examine opportunities for innovation and collaboration between the users, producers and custodians of agricultural statistics. This includes opportunities for effectively resourcing the NASIS into the future.