Core and Supplementary Agricultural Topics

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Core and Supplementary Agricultural Topics

Section B


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What is an Agricultural Holding?

An economic unit under single management comprising all crops, land and livestock, whole or partly used for agricultural purposes.

– Households with agricultural holdings

– Public or private enterprises with agricultural holdings


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What is a Household?

The household is one of the basic and complex concepts in a statistical system– It is a group of persons who make common

provision for food and living essentials together. – Household members may be:

• One person or many• Related or unrelated• Living in the same dwelling or multiple dwellings


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Relationship between Holdings and Households

Households with own-account agricultural production operate under single management and are equal to an agricultural holding.

• Exceptions where 1 household = 2 holdings:– Separate agriculture units live in same households

such as married children with parents– Household has own agriculture holding plus a holding

jointly with another household


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Own-Account Household = Holding

Make own-account agricultural production household the definition of a household sector agricultural holding.

Benefits:

– Simplified identification of holdings

– Matches past holding definitions

– Common statistical unit with population census makes linking easier


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Non-Household Sector Holdings

Public or private enterprises with agricultural holdings are defined as an economic unit engaged in one main productive activity in a single location– Land parcels separated by distance must

share inputs or else they are two holdings


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Agricultural Holding Considerations

• Holdings can have little or no land area

• Households with no legal rights can operate holdings for products

• If a member of a group is given a parcel for independent management, that is a separate holding

• Open pastureland is not a holding


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Special Cases for Household Holdings

• If a household sells their land during a census reference year, the new owners should report activities for the reference year

• Households that seasonally lease land are an agricultural holding all the time

• Households that work a parcel of land in different seasons both count it as part of their agricultural holding


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Agricultural Holder

• The holder is the decision maker and manager of an agricultural holding operation.

• There can be joint holders for one holding

• Normally only collected for single-holding households

• Design questions to avoid bias in identifying the agricultural holder


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Sub-Holding

• One or more related agricultural activities managed by an individual or group on the holder’s behalf. – Can be more than one sub-holding in a holding

– A sub-holding can be part or all of a holding

– The sub-holding focuses on the decision maker not multiple workers on a plot


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Sub-Holder

• Person responsible for managing a sub-holding on the holder’s behalf.– Only one sub-holder on a sub-holding

– The holder may or may not be a sub-holder

– More than one sub-holder may work the same land seasonally


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Community Level Data

Community level data can add value to agricultural holding data:

1. Analysis of community characteristics where holdings operate

2. Relating community information to holdings such as markets, farmer’s associations, and service providers

3. Community data can be used to check holding data such as land area and tenure


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What is a Community?

Each country must precisely define community for their statistical program. It usually corresponds to the lowest administrative unit.– Only communities with agricultural holdings

are of interest– Estimated coverage in terms of entire frame of

communities should be examined.


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How to Define Community

• Administrative record availability

• Cost of data collection and processing

• National or statistical lists of communities

• Stability of community units

• Census methodology and structure


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Developing Community Level Survey

• Conduct an exhaustive inventory of available data to determine if a survey is needed

• Ensure all community level data is integrated and comparable

• If survey is needed, keep it short:– Don’t try to replace holding interviews– Start with tabulations– Limit questions to what can be answered


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Community Survey TopicsOnly collect data that is not available• Geography:

– Agro-ecological, climatic, topographical, or soils types

– Travelling time to nearest urban center

– Is community prone to natural disasters

• Socio-economic conditions– Population by groups, number of households

– Economic status and activities

– Seasonal food shortages


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Community Survey Topics• Presence of fertilizer, pesticide, seed dealer, if not

travelling time to nearest trading center• Availability of veterinary services and travelling time to

nearest services• Presence of agricultural produce collection network, food

storage and processing facilities• Presence of farmer’s associations, agricultural extension

service• Local services (electricity, communication, transportation,

schools, hospitals, development projects)


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Community Survey Topic Definitions• Agro-ecological, climatic, topographical, or soil types are

zones that affect agriculture or climate such as desert or swamps

• Communal grazing and forests fills in data missing from holder level interviews

• Travelling time provides information on community and holder level access

• Information on natural disasters and food storage can identify communities at risk for food insecurity


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Community Survey Topic Definitions• Sociodemographic data can be used to classify

communities

• Economic data can classify communities according to a poverty index based on specific criteria

• Community infrastructure and services provides an idea of what is available to holdings

• Information on community development projects is useful to monitor and evaluate their impact


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Community Survey Administration

• Countries are divided into EAs which aren’t usually equal to communities

• Interviewers administer community survey during agricultural census activities at community level

• Investigate option of sending community survey forms to community administrative offices in advance


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Community Survey Sampling

Community surveys must be administered in areas covered by the agricultural census in order to link the data


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Section B Quiz

1. What is the unit of enumeration in an agricultural census?

2. What is an agricultural holder?

3. What is the objective of a community level survey?

4. Is the community survey administered on a sample basis?

Documents

Core and Supplementary Agricultural Topics