Sources of Agricultural Data

Copyright 2010, The World Bank Group. All Rights Reserved.

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Sources of Agricultural Data

Section B


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Administrative Records

• Population or locality data files

• Labor employment and unemployment offices

• Taxation data

• Farm registers


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Administrative Record Advantages

• Reduced costs of data collection

• Reduced respondent burden

• Production of data on detailed domains

• Estimating transition over time


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Administrative Record Cautions

• Information can be outdated

• Coverage may not be complete

• Accuracy must be verified

• Potential bias


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Sample Surveys

1. Agricultural surveys – Holding unit of enumeration from agricultural

census

2. Household surveys– Individual and households are units of enumeration

from population census


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Sample Surveys

3. Labor force surveys– Establishment is unit of enumeration including

agricultural sub-sector

– Economically active population is unit of enumeration – can be biased against subsistence agricultural workers


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Agricultural Surveys

• Agro-economic surveys provide required data on agriculture activity and employment

– Structural data gathered in first round of the year

• Surveys can be targeted to focus on one crop, holding type or activity


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Agro-Economic Surveys

• Data not captured:– Characteristics of holder’s household

members

– Activities of holder’s household members not working on holding

– Structure of the holder’s household income


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Crop Survey Examples

• Crop production survey:

– Planting intentions prior to planting

– Crop plantings after planting

– Crop conditions before harvest

– Crop production after harvest


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Crop Survey Examples

• Survey of post-harvest losses

• Survey of food stocks

• Crop marketing survey


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Livestock Survey Examples• Surveys on livestock products and structure:

– Milk and wool production

– Livestock by breed, sex and number

• Surveys of abattoirs, butchers, dairies

• Marketing board information

• Survey of feed stocks


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Other Agricultural Surveys

• Farm management surveys– Organization and management of farms

• Cost of production surveys– Operational costs for a particular activity

• Time use surveys– Examines contributions by family members to

agricultural holdings


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Household Surveys

• Usually cover multiple topics, a few are specialized

• Include all households, not just ones with agricultural holdings

• Identification of households with enterprises, including agriculture, could guide administration of supplementary modules


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Household Surveys• Demographic and Health Survey (DHS)

• Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire (CWIQ) surveys

• Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) surveys

• Household Budget surveys

• Education surveys

• Labor Force surveys

• Food security surveys


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Labor Force Survey

• Household member characteristics

• Activity status

• Occupation, Industry and status in employment

• Time worked – may be expanded to time use

• Wages, salaries and income


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• Designed to assist decision makers design and monitor socioeconomic policies

• Designed to improve household survey data and build statistical capacity

• Has been conducted in over 40 countries since 1980

LSMS

Source: Living Standards Measurement Study, The World Bank


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• Basic crop production, storage and sales

• Productivity of main crops

• Land holdings

• Farming practices

• Input use and technology adoption

• Access to and use of services, infrastructure and natural resources

• Livestock • Fishery

LSMS – ISA

Source: Living Standards Measurement Study, The World Bank


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Remote Sensing Technology

• Satellite imagery can assist in the stratification of land area– Can be combined with GIS sample frame

• Assist in crop area estimation

• Dissemination of data using GIS


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Famine Early Warning System (FEWS)

• A system that integrates market information, crop assessments and satellite data to identify areas at risk of food insecurity.

• Objective is to provide data on areas of potential food insecurity in time for decision makers to act upon the information.

• More information can be found at www.few.net


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Summary• Administrative records

• Agricultural surveys– Crop, livestock, farm management, cost of

production, and time use surveys

• Household surveys– Labor force, LSMS

• Remote sensing technology use


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Section B Quiz1. What is the unit of enumeration for an

agricultural survey?2. Name two potential problems with

administrative data.3. What is the analytical advantage of collecting

agricultural data in a household survey?4. What does a post-harvest loss survey

measure?

Sources of Agricultural Data

Documents

agricultural holdings

agricultural activities

agricultural occupations

unemployment records

data needs

taxation records

data collection questions

useful information