File photo: CGTN

SUVA, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, the Agriculture Census in Fiji will include four crops including sugarcane, livestock, fisheries and forestry.

With the Census beginning on Monday, the Ministry of Forestry anticipates not only relevant and critical data but also statistical information that they've never collected before.

According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) on Monday, Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Agriculture Pene Baleibuli said the expanded focus of the 2020 Agriculture Census will for the first time give them a better stock take of the forestry resources.

Pene said that way they would be collecting all sorts of data to indicate the type of resources available in Fiji.

The census will be carried out over the next three weeks to Feb. 29.

The Fijian government has allocated 4.5 million Fijian dollars (about 2.05 million U.S. dollars) for the 2020 Fiji Agriculture census.

Since its inception in 1970, the census continues to be one of the platforms that assess Fiji's development and identifies the needs for international assistance. There was a high demand for agriculture information to be obtained from this census.

The integrated census which takes place every 10 years will cover the crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors.

The 2020 Fiji agriculture census is expected to cover more than 72,000 farming households, compared to the 65, 000 covered in the 2009 agriculture census.