At today’s session in Sarajevo, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina accepted information from the Federal Bureau of Statistics on the implementation of the Project, which is being carried out with the aim of preparing cartographic documentation, as part of the preparations for the Census of Agriculture in our country, which will be carried out this year after 63 years.

It is about the project of vectorization and updating of boundaries of spatial units, creation and updating of street and house number records, updating of databases of register of spatial units (BP RPJ), and preparation for printing of sketches of statistical and census circles, as well as creation and preparation for printing of survey maps , which is carried out by the Federal Bureau of Statistics with the aim of preparing cartographic documentation.

As explained in the information, as part of the preparations for the upcoming Census of Agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023, the Federal Bureau of Statistics has started the preparation of cartographic documentation. The agricultural sector is one of the most important for the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is characterized by a large number of small farms that contribute significantly to the country’s GDP.

The last census of agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina was conducted in 1960, so the new one, as well as the preparations that will enable its implementation, are approached with great responsibility. In the progress reports of the European Commission, the Census of Agriculture is marked as a priority in order to obtain a complete register of farms, as well as other data that will be collected.

It was also stated that in 2021, a draft methodology and questionnaire for the Census of Agriculture was prepared, and a plan of activities of statistical institutions for the preparation of the Census and post-census activities was made. Within the framework of the pilot project IPA 2017 5.0 (Agricultural statistics), work with experts continued on the quality assessment of the framework for the Census of Agriculture, the finalization of the questionnaire and methodology for the census, and the preparation and design of the Pilot Census of Agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) has published two sets of recommendations for the Census of Agriculture, and in one of the recommendations, an entire chapter defines the preparation of cartography. Guided by the recommendations, the Federal Bureau of Statistics started the activities of updating the data of the register of spatial units, as well as creating sketches of enumeration circles that the enumerators will use during the enumeration in the field. Sketches of enumeration circles should be in digital and analog form. The Federal Bureau of Statistics also started working on the digitization and establishment of a geographic information system (GIS) of the register of spatial units. All data is recorded in one of the acceptable GIS formats that allows exchange and input into different software platforms. GML is being introduced as the official format for data exchange of the register of spatial units, which should be harmonized with the Real Estate Cadastre Data Model.

Recognizing the importance of the implementation of this project, the Government authorized the Federal Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs to transfer the data required for its implementation to the Federal Bureau of Statistics.

The census of agriculture in the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina is planned for the fourth quarter of 2023.