Since 1920, a separate national agricultural census has been taken every 5 years. The 1999 census is the ninth census of agriculture of American Samoa, and the first to be conducted strictly as a census of agriculture. The first eight agriculture censuses in American Samoa, beginning in 1920, were taken in conjunction with the decennial census, and agriculture information was collected only for those households that answered affirmatively to a question about agricultural activities asked at the end of the decennial questionnaire. The census of agriculture is the leading source of statistics about American Samoa's agricultural production and the only source of consistent, comparable data at the island level. Census statistics are used to measure agricultural production and to identify trends in an ever- changing agricultural sector.
Many local programs use census data as a benchmark for designing and evaluating surveys.
Private industry uses census statistics to provide a more effective production and distribution system for the agricultural community. The 1999 Census of Agriculture of American Samoa provides data on production and value of agriculture both for sale and for home consumption. The collection of data for home consumption reflects the importance of this sector of agriculture in American Samoa, where a majority of households provide a portion of their food needs through agricultural activities that may fall outside the commercial marketplace. The law directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a census of agriculture in 1998 and in every fifth year thereafter, covering the prior year. The census of agriculture includes each State, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and states that the Secretary may include other territories or protectorates in the census program.