7105.0.55.004 - National Agricultural Statistics Review - Final Report, 2015  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/07/2015  First Issue
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2. A CLEARLY ARTICULATED STRATEGY TO GUIDE FUTURE INVESTMENT

Best practice statistical systems are guided by an overarching vision, plan or strategy that describes the information requirements the system is designed to inform, and directs investment and effort towards positioning the system to support those information requirements, both now and into the future. It is usual for the development of these plans to be led by the relevant agency with responsibility for agricultural statistics, usually the national statistics agency or ministry of agriculture. Examples include plans developed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)50, and Statistics Canada51.

However, best practice plans go beyond the remit of a single agency and aim to develop a system-wide view of information priorities and the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders in addressing these. An example is Statistics New Zealand’s ‘Domain Plans’, which aim to achieve clarity and agreement from stakeholders about the main statistical priorities and the strategies for addressing these over a 5-8 year timeframe, and which promote shared responsibility and cooperation among agencies to achieve these strategies. New Zealand’s Agriculture, Horticulture, and Forestry Domain Plan 200952, was jointly developed by Statistics NZ and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in consultation with other government agencies and industry. It included a conceptual framework of agricultural statistics and a set of enduring topics representing the ongoing policy areas of interest to decision-makers in the industry. The plan outlines the main statistical priorities for the agriculture, horticulture, and forestry industries in New Zealand and the strategy for addressing these to 2017.

FOOTNOTES

50 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service 2011, National Agricultural Statistics Service Strategic Plan, FYs 2010-2015.
51 Statistics Canada 2011, Agriculture Statistics Program Review.
52 Statistics New Zealand 2009, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Forestry Domain Plan 2009, Wellington: Statistics New Zealand.