Queretaro, Qro. In order to have updated statistics on the presence and participation of the agricultural sector in the state, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) is preparing the 2022 census of this productive activity.
The previous exercise was 15 years ago, in 2007, explained the Inegi state coordinator, Helio Pareja Navarrete, anticipating that the results of the 2022 edition will be announced next year.
For the collection and analysis of information at the local level, in the segment of small and medium producers, 52,604 production units will be taken into account, as well as large producers who work in 538 units; in addition to 325 production units that carry out forestry use.
Meanwhile, it is expected to have 93% of the producers covered, through the 2022 agricultural census.
The Inegi estimates that in the state there are 136,119 plots of land in rural areas, 1.5% of the national indicator; 97,403 lands in agricultural, livestock or forestry activity, which are 1.2% of the national and of them, 53,467 production units, to which the census questionnaire will be applied.
In addition, 38,716 rural lands with economic activity, neither agricultural nor forestry, or where no activity is carried out, which represents 2.9% of the national total, are identified.
There will be a questionnaire for each group, and it is expected that all the information will be collected through an electronic tablet or cell phone, although in some cases the survey will be on paper, information that will finally be poured through an electronic device.
state committee
In this context, the State Committee to support the 2022 Agricultural Census was installed, in which public entities and producers participate.
After a pilot test carried out this month, it is expected that the collection of information will be carried out from September to November, obtaining the first results in May 2023 and the final ones in November.
To carry out the census, there will be 173 interviewers and 35 field managers, who will identify themselves with credentials, a photograph, and an official uniform that bears the Inegi logo.
Therefore, it is expected to obtain information on agricultural, livestock, forestry production, labor, wages, irrigation systems, technology, machinery, production facilities, financing and insurance, etc.
The state coordinator of the institute highlighted the relevance of having information on the agricultural sector, as it is a key piece in the objectives of sustainable development.
It contextualized that 19% of Mexicans depend economically directly or indirectly on the sector, and that half of the rural population, due to their situation, requires support programs.
“The primary sector employs 12% of the country’s employed population,” he deepened.
In this sense, he said that the sector faces challenges such as food security, poverty, climate change mitigation, in addition to meeting the objectives of sustainable development.
Program Development
Having information on the sector is essential for decision-making and the development of local public policies, explained the secretary of Agricultural Development (Sedea), Rosendo Anaya Aguilar.
“The municipal governments, the Inegi, the state participate, so that we can draw that line with the municipalities during the next three years of local governments and six of the state. That we can have programs that can really help producers,” he reported.