General Directorate of Survey and Mapping

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Capacity building in the field of surveying and mapping.

• Developing of the land-use map at the national level pursuant to Royal Decree No. (44978) dated 21-8-2012.

• Developing a general map of land and natural resources within the jurisdiction of the Ministry.

• Developing and updating of maps of agricultural land and natural resources and converting them into a format compatible with GIS.

• Establishing Ag – lis system.

• Developing the logical design of the land information system as UML.

• Processing the physical design of this system.

• Data collection at the national level for all information segments.

• Developing a conversion plan to convert the entire Ministry's spatial data into the new system database.

• Selecting the design using a prototype to ensure the integrity of the previous work, on a sample of data, this step will ensure that the system is ready for operation.

• Entering the actual data collected, the system operation, and build appropriate applications.

• Converting the Ministry's textual data into digital data (data conversion).

• Joining the membership of the National Committee for Geographic Information Systems (NSDI)formed by Royal Decree No. (388) dated 06-12-2010.

• Coordinating with the relevant government agencies and bodies.

• Determining the appropriate means to link the general departments of agriculture with the geographic information system in the Ministry so that they can benefit from the data of this system, and allowing them to update the system with the information that they have.

• Effective participation in the documentation of agricultural holdings through the registration system to reduce the encroachment on agricultural land.

Responsibilities & Competencies:

In line with the tasks in the agricultural sector referred to in paragraph (3-3), the tasks and competencies of the survey and mapping activity at different organizational levels have been defined and distributed as follows:

Central Level

The General Directorate of Survey and Mapping in the Ministry is responsible for the production of basic maps, provision of aerial and satellite images, launch of spatial information and data system for agricultural lands and natural resources at the national level, the development of required policies, programs and plans; organization, supervision, and evaluation of the performance and development of cadastral work in the agricultural sector to meet the requirements of agricultural development.

Regional Level

The divisions of the Survey and Mapping general directorates of agriculture in the regions undertake the task of identifying and surveying wastelands and agricultural development projects, supervising and following up the implementation of the survey work, and establishing the database of agricultural lands and resources at the level of the region by integrating the land databases in the various agriculture branches in the region in coordination with the concerned division in the general department of maps and survey and the relevant bodies of maps and survey in the region.

Local level

The survey units of the agriculture branches at the local level undertake the task of identifying and surveying agricultural lands, prepare survey maps and document them in spatial databases in accordance with the regulating standards and specifications.

Central Body

In addition to what was discussed in the previous paragraph on the tasks and competencies, objectives of the survey sector in the Ministry as follows:

Mission: Purpose and Scope of Work

Providing survey services and providing maps and spatial information systems for the agricultural sector at the national level with high quality and accuracy through qualified national manpower in the framework of effective cooperation with all concerned national sectors to contribute to sustainable agricultural development.

Vision: The Future Perspective of the Situation

Identify and survey agricultural land and natural resources in accordance with the best international practices, provide the required database for the establishment of agricultural land information system, and continue to improve and develop the quality and accuracy of survey services provided to service recipients.

Values and Ideals

Reliable survey services and accurate spatial data, which depends on national standards to ensure continuous improvement.

Objectives

• Conduct a comprehensive survey of agricultural land in the Kingdom and undertake all identification, documentation and mapping concerning it.

• Developing of agricultural land maps, natural resources, soil, land use and all maps required by the agricultural sector.

• Developing and sustaining the agricultural land information base as a core nucleus in the national spatial data infrastructure NSDI.

• Setting standards and technical specifications for survey work and producing maps, geographic information and land information required by the agricultural sector.

• Preparing and approving agricultural plans and supervising their implementation.

• Developing human resources to meet the needs of the agricultural sector in the areas of surveying, map production and information.

• Identifying, organizing, controlling, and monitoring of cadastral work, production of maps, and geographical information and land information in accordance with national requirements throughout the ministry.

• Establishing the spatial databases necessary to support and maintain the basic agricultural sector tasks.

• Carrying out aerial photography and survey of agricultural lands and natural resources.

• Raising public awareness in the agricultural sector in the areas of surveying, maps and geographic information, and related disciplines.

• Identifying and establishing strategic partnerships that serve the objectives and requirements of survey and maps in the agricultural sector.

• Continuous improvement and development of organizational and technical capabilities through forward-looking management leadership for performance excellence.

• Follow-up on modern technologies in maps and survey and introducing them into the agricultural work environment.

• Coordinating with all governmental and private bodies and agencies in exchanging information and unifying standards.