Census of Agriculture 2007—Vanuatu Vanuatu National Statistics Office PMB 9019 Port Villa Vanuatu Tel: (678) 22110 / 22111 Fax: (678) 24583 Email:
[email protected] www.spc.int/prism/country/vu/stats National Statistics Office The Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO) is a Government department and is Vanuatu's official statistical agency. Its roles and functions are governed by the Statistics Act of 1983. The Department is headed by the Government Statistician whose responsibilities are also detailed in the Statistics Act. Prior to the Comprehensive Reform Program, which started in 1996, the VNSO was part of the National Planning Office, under the direction of the Prime Minister's Office. As a result of the Reform Program, the VNSO is now a separate Department under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM). Functions and Responsibilities The function of the VNSO is to produce timely and accurate statistics about the economic and social characteristics of Vanuatu, for use by government departments, private institutions, businesses, overseas organisations, researchers, students and the general public. Statistics produced by the VNSO play an important role in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of government policies. This has become increasingly important as the Government is evaluating the implementation stage of the Comprehensive Reform Program. Layout and design 2008: Michael Ashcroft, www/cenart.net Printed by Instant Colour Press, Canberra, Australia FOREWORD The Census of Agriculture is a large scale undertaking to collect statistical data at provincial level. These data are needed to evaluate the status of the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors in Vanuatu and for planning.