In my introductory remarks, I defined this seminar as the crowning event of a 12-year US$16 million project, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and funded by Italy within their Cooperative Programme. I also stressed the importance of the seminar from a user point of view. As an exercise in International Development Cooperation, the FAO/Italy project was not only aimed at promoting a conducive institutional and technical setting for the undertaking of the First National Agricultural Census in China, it was aimed at contributing to the production of a more reliable systematic data set for best use in an agricultural and development policy design and implementation. Not the Agricultural Census  ′per se′ but as a tool, in fact, an extremely important one, for economic and social development.

 

After going through the last four days of rich presentations and discussions, I am pleased to say, from the perspective of the FAO/Italy Cooperative Programme, that the seminar has been, as much as it was reasonable to expect a crowning event to the conclusion of the project.

 

The organization was outstanding, the programme was good. The papers and individual sessions were good, and in some cases excellent. The discussions were good, and occasionally outstanding, although seriously limited by the lack of time.

 

In terms of coherence between individual papers, and the general purpose of the seminar focusing on the results of the First Agricultural Census, non-anticipated problems were confined to few cases. As far as the main focus of the seminar is concerned, that is, making use of census results, the main contribution of the seminar was to indicate the enormous analytical potential, rather than offer fully accomplished exercises. For the latter, there was too little time. However, we got a pretty good start for a new season of work, which calls for a wider spectrum of professional skills and institutional capacities, both in China and in the international community. This new endeavour will take many years, and go far beyond the capacity and mandate of a specific project, or cooperative programme. Allow me to express the wish that the broadest possible set of partnerships can be put to work for best use of the results of the First Agricultural Census in China, for the benefit of China and its people, and for the benefit of this small planet, of which China makes up close to one-fourth of the total population, and the substantially greater number of the rural population.

 

In concluding these short remarks, I would like to sincerely thank, both personally, and on behalf of the Italian Government:

◇ the Chinese Government, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Chinese colleagues and friends for their continuous commitment, and for their marvellous hospitality;

◇ FAO, and colleagues and friends in FAO, for all their efforts in making this seminar a success;

◇ the Organizing and Programme Committees, for their generous contributions; the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons, session organizers and discussants, and all the participants.

 

Thanks again, to all of you.