BPS prepares West Manggarai for 2026 Economic Census with Lembor surveys

Labuan Bajo — The statistics office for West Manggarai in eastern Indonesia is updating its statistical work-area maps while running grain-to-rice and labour-force surveys in Lembor District, as part of preparations for the national Economic Census scheduled for 2026, according to local officials and media.

Regional broadcaster RRI reported that Regent Edistasius Endi visited Lembor on Tuesday, 19 August 2025, to observe surveys being carried out by the West Manggarai office of Statistics Indonesia (BPS). The activity formed part of the Updating of Statistical Work Areas (Wilkerstat) programme, described as preparation for the 2026 Economic Census, and was accompanied by two other surveys: the Grain-to-Rice Conversion Survey (SKGB) and the National Labour Force Survey (Sakernas).

During the visit, Endi called on residents and business owners to cooperate fully with BPS officers and provide honest information, stressing that the results would be used for planning and development. Detik Bali quoted him urging respondents not to be afraid of being surveyed and to answer questions truthfully so that the data accurately reflects local conditions.

The Wilkerstat mapping is intended to verify geographic and administrative boundaries and ensure that all relevant households, businesses and other economic units are listed once, without omissions or duplication. In Lembor, BPS officers were reported to be focusing on Pasar Lembor, a local market that concentrates much of the area’s economic activity, while emphasising that Wilkerstat ultimately covers all neighbourhood units (RT), local environment units (SLS), villages and subdistricts in West Manggarai.

What the current surveys cover

Detik’s coverage of the visit states that BPS West Manggarai is running three activities in Lembor: SKGB at selected rice mills, Wilkerstat mapping and Sakernas interviews at households. RRI similarly reports that Wilkerstat there is part of preparations for the 2026 Economic Census and that SKGB and Sakernas are being implemented in parallel.

According to BPS, the Grain-to-Rice Conversion Survey measures how much rice is produced from harvested grain after milling, with survey results used to project rice stocks from paddy harvests for several years ahead. Detik quoted BPS officials as saying SKGB is typically conducted every five years and that its conversion ratios are used to project rice availability over the following period. The same report notes that SKGB in West Manggarai is using 25 rice mills as samples and is targeted for completion by September 2025.

Sakernas is BPS’s National Labour Force Survey, conducted regularly to measure employment, unemployment and other labour-market indicators. Detik’s report on Lembor states that Sakernas there is carried out twice a year and that BPS officers visit households to collect data, which is then used to calculate local unemployment rates. National BPS publications specify that Sakernas August 2025 provides data on workers by sex, age, education, sector and other characteristics across Indonesia.

Why the figures matter in West Manggarai

RRI frames the Wilkerstat update in West Manggarai as a foundational step for the 2026 Economic Census, aimed at producing an accurate statistical picture of economic activity in the regency. Detik’s report adds that precise mapping of local environment units and market areas is needed so that census officers know the boundaries of each enumeration area and can count all business units operating there.

The SKGB results are directly linked to food-security planning. A pocketbook on West Manggarai’s agriculture published by the NTT provincial fisheries and agriculture office cites BPS figures showing paddy production of 107,375 tonnes of dry unhusked rice in 2024, harvested from 23,995 hectares, and notes that these data feed into assessments of regional rice supply. Detik reports that SKGB conversion ratios are used to translate such paddy figures into estimated rice output, helping authorities understand how much rice is available for consumption and reserves.

BPS head for West Manggarai, Ikhe Suryaningrum, is listed in official statistical publications as the regency’s statistics chief and as director for several local data compilations. In line with BPS practice, she and other officials have stressed in media coverage that statistical surveys follow national methodological standards and that public cooperation is essential so results can be used for planning, monitoring and evaluating development.

Both RRI and Detik report that Endi used his August 2025 visit to publicly support BPS’s work and to remind residents that survey data are collected for policy-making, not taxation. He asked farmers, mill operators and households to be open with survey teams so that West Manggarai’s changing economy, including its agricultural base, can be more accurately reflected in official statistics.

Sources

• RRI Ende regional report on BPS surveys in West Manggarai
• Detik Bali article on BPS rice survey and mapping in Manggarai Barat
• Pocketbook on West Manggarai agriculture from NTT Marine and Fisheries Service
• BPS national publication "Booklet Sakernas Agustus 2025"