Agricultural Statistics and Resource Economics Section (ASRE)

This unit of ASRE has a number of staffs at both the office and field levels. Office staff comprises of the Senior Statistician, Statisticians, Cadet Statisticians, Senior Statistical Clerks and field Enumerators. The functions of each staff are detailed below:

Senior Statistician Takes directive from the Principal Statistician. In the absence of the Principal Statistician the Senior Statistician deputises. The Senior Statistician should be the director of field operations. His/her primary duties include:

The coordination and supervision of all field operations and ensuring the regular supply of basic needs of the field staff such as survey materials and fuel;

Presiding over the monthly meetings organised during the NASS activities in the rainy season and discuss with the Principal Statistician major constraints marring field operations, and together work out a solution;

The overseeing of the smooth running of the computer room and the effective administration of computer staff, and in consultation with the head of NADC (Computer Analyst) efficiently allocating responsibilities among computer staff;

The assisting of the Principal Statistician in the preparation of the annual staff training, NASS activities, and also ensure that all field staff are posted before the commencement of NASS activities, and

The supervision of secondary data collection, collation, and analysis and the preparation of reports;

The preparation and coordination of early warning system depicting the food security or insecurity level of rural households.

Statistician/Cadet Statistician They are directly answerable to the Senior Statistician although the Principal Statistician can contact them directly for the execution of certain assignments. However, their routine duties will include:

The assisting of both the Principal and Senior Statisticians in the preparation and coordination of the section's activities; and

The undertaking essential assignments as may be requested by other section heads in terms if the provision of a wide range of primary and secondary data.

Supervisor (Senior Statistical Clerk) This staff category consists mainly of field supervisors who are charged with the responsibility of overseeing directly the various field operations performed by field enumerators. They collect primary data from field enumerators for onward transmission to the headquarters for data entry and analysis.

They are involved in the collection, summarization and presentation (tabulation) of data as well as fieldwork exercises and supervision of subordinate staff. They assist in the compilation of statistical data and the presentation of the results. They are involved in verifying, coding and transcription of field data, systems operations and data.

Enumerator (Statistical Clerk) They are mainly involved in the collection and summarization of data, including survey fieldwork and basic systems operations and data capture such as

The National Agricultural Data Centre (NADC) Is another unit within the ASRE section of the Department of Planning mainly responsible for the assembling, and analysis of a wide range of data for agriculture and natural resource's sector.

Senior Computer Analyst

The Senior Computer analyst is in principle the head of the NADC although he is directly answerable to the Principal Statistician. He is assisted by a number of staff including the Cadet Programs Analyst, and data entry clerks. The Computer Analyst is expected to oversee the effective administration of computer room staff and his/her other duties include:

The supervision and coordination of agriculture and natural resource data collation and entry into the computer for analysis;

The analysis of NASS data in close consultation with both the Principal and Senior Statisticians;

The training of computer staff in data processing and analysis as well as the 13 development of computer programming and computer-based data management techniques;

The organization of the on-the-job training for senior and middle-level staff in the use of some computer software such as word-processing, spreadsheet and statistical software packages;

The provision and management of effective backup systems for all the data-sets; and

The provision of technical assistance and advisory services in the use of computers and computer software to needy staff both at senior and middle-level management.

Cadet Programs Analyst Is under the supervision of the computer analyst but both are answerable to the Principal and Senior Statisticians. May deputize for the computer analyst when the need arises. Their duties are complementary. The duties of the Cadet Programs Analyst are to:

 Assist the computer analyst in data processing, analysis and management;

 Validate all data entered in the computer and assist in the estimation of the national agricultural statistics (area, yield and production);

 Help in the compilation of computer programs and the management of computer information systems;

 Assist in the training of computer staff in computer program development and the validation techniques used for checking data entry; and

 Assist in the preparation of the monthly, quarterly and annual progress report.

Statistical Clerks These staffs are collectively responsible for entering the collated data from the field as well as secondary data collected from certain institutions. They are under the direct supervision of the computer and cadet program analysts. Their routine responsibilities are determined by the computer analyst, and the statisticians as the case may be. In broad terms, their duties include:

 Ensuring the timely entering of the field data in a proper and logical manner to make data processing and analysis easier and less time consuming; 

 Also ensuring as far as possible the minimization of human errors during the data entry process; and

Familiarizing themselves with a range of common computer software used to assist 14 needy staff in specialized computing operations.