Côte d’Ivoire and FAO launch preparations for national agriculture census

Côte d’Ivoire has launched preparations for a new national agriculture census aimed at updating data on the country’s farming sector, a decade after its last census of agricultural operators and farms.

Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed an agreement on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, officially launching the Technical Cooperation Programme TCP/IVC/4101, which will support preparations for the National Agriculture Census.

The FAO-backed programme has a budget of $250,000 and will run from 2026 to 2028. It is intended to provide technical assistance for the preparation and implementation of the census.

The previous census of agricultural operators and farms was conducted in 2016. Since then, Côte d’Ivoire’s agricultural sector has undergone significant changes, increasing the need for updated information on farms, agricultural activities and the structure of the rural economy.

The new census is expected to provide the government with more recent and reliable data to support agricultural policies, planning, research and private-sector investment. It will also help identify structural changes in rural areas and improve the country’s agricultural statistics system.

The preparatory programme will include the development of the census project document, the creation of governance and technical structures, and the strengthening of national teams’ expertise in agricultural statistics.

The FAO will also support the modernization of data collection through the development and testing of digital tools, including electronic questionnaires and tablet-based data collection systems.

The census is planned for the 2026/2027 agricultural campaign and is being aligned with the FAO’s World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2030. The operation is also intended to contribute to the development of a permanent and integrated agricultural statistics system in Côte d’Ivoire.

FAO representative in Côte d’Ivoire Joseph Nyemah said agriculture remains central to the Ivorian economy, accounting for more than 20% of gross domestic product and serving as a major source of income for the population. He said updated indicators were increasingly important amid climate pressures, land constraints and productivity challenges.

For Koné, the partnership with the FAO represents an important step in the transformation of Côte d’Ivoire’s agricultural sector. The minister stressed the importance of using reliable data to guide public policies, improve planning and strengthen the competitiveness of agriculture.

The initiative comes as Côte d’Ivoire continues to pursue broader efforts to modernize and transform its agricultural sector, including through the preparation of its third-generation National Agricultural Investment Programme.