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Roundtable on World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020 Bangkok, Thailand19-23 September 2016

Ambika BashyalDirectorCentral Bureau of Statisticsambikabashyal@hotmail.com

Linking Population and Housing Censuses with Agricultural Censuses: the Case of Nepal

Technical Session 3

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Outline

•Introduction•Methodological Approach Used in Census of Agriculture•Linkage between Population and Agricultural Census•Sample design•Sampling frames•Lessons learnt and Major challenges•Way forward

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Census of Agriculture

Agricultural census is the main source of agricultural statistics regarding the structure of agriculture in a country. The CBS is responsible for carrying out agricultural censuses in Nepal.•Nepal has been conducting decennial agricultural censuses since 1961/62. •The six agricultural censuses conducted in the country so far are:

• first (1961/62), • second (1971/72), • third (1981/82), • fourth (1991/92), • fifth (2001/02) and • sixth (2011/12).

•Each of these censuses was undertaken in line with the recommendations and framework of the WCA 2010 prepared and promoted by the FAO. •All of these censuses were conducted on a sampling basis.

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Legal basis

•The legal provision of the census and survey is one of the important aspects for empowering data collection operation in Nepal.

•The Statistics Act 2015 is very explicit in the provision of confidentiality to encourage participation in surveys by individuals, firms and others.

•In accordance with the Statistics Act 2015, the Government may also by ‘notified order’ (order published in the Gazette) issue directions for the collection of statistics of any matter.

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Census organization

•The agriculture census project was implemented by the Crops and Livestock Census and Survey Section of the Economic Statistics Division of the CBS .

•It was the responsibility of the Director General of the CBS to implement the agricultural census.

•Under the direct control of the DG, project coordinator and census officers, the enumerators carried out the field enumeration with the supervision and direction of the field supervisor.

•A hierarchical an ad-hoc organization structure was made to successfully implement the census CBS .

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Organization Chart

Steering Committee

Central Bureau of Statistics

Technical Committee

Agricultural Census 2011-12 Project

Administration Section Financial Administration Section District Agricultural Census Office OooooOfficeOffice

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To control the enumeration activities in the district, the following provision was made:

Director General

Project Coordinator

District Agricultural Census Coordination Committee Coordination Committee

District Agricultural Census Officer

Supervisor

Enumerator

at the central level

at the district level

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International collaboration/assistance •The technical assistances received by the Government from agencies like FAO and ADB has enhanced the capacity of the CBS to undertake agricultural census and surveys.

•Technical/financial support from FAO up to 1991/92 census. In 2001/02, technical support for data processing was by ADB.

•In 2011/12 census, there was a technical assistance for sample design review by FAO.

•The CBS has been regularly supplying the agricultural statistics to FAO as required.

•Assistances will be required for the paradigm shift such as • migration from PAPI to CAPI, • use of area frame or combination of both area and list frame instead of list

frame alone of the agricultural holdings, • policy analysis of the census and survey data, etc.

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Linkage between Population and Agricultural Census

•The sampling frame for NSCA 2011/12 was derived from the population census 2011 with complete enumeration for the items:

• Area of the holdings and • Number of livestock and poultry by type.

• The information collected though this listing form was used to identify the number of agricultural holdings in each ward.• Population Census 2011 project had prepared EA maps for 58 municipalities and for village development committees (VDCs) of 12 district headquarters. Further, EA (block) maps were prepared for a few large VDCs of the country. Those EA maps were used in the fieldwork of the 2011/12 census of agriculture. • Furniture, laptop computers, computer server networks, and other logistics used in the population census were used in the Agricultural Census 2011/12 data processing which reduced the cost, time and effort of the latter.

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Linkage between Population and Agricultural Census (cont…)

10) Does your household operate any land for agriculture purpose?

Yes/ No

If yes, the total area of the land in

11) Bigha 12) Katha 13) Dhur

14) Ropani 15) Ana 16) Paisa

17) Does your household raise livestock/poultry for agriculture purpose?

Yes/ No

If yes, the total number of livestock/poultry for agriculture purpose

Livestock

18) Cow/Ox 19) Buffalo 20) Yak/ Nak/ Chauri 21) Horse/Ass

22) Sheep 23) Goat 24) Pig/pork 25) Other

Poultry

26) Chicken 27) Duck 28) Other

(Serial numbers of questions have been preserved same as in the questionnaire)

Questions asked in population Census 2011

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Statistical unit

 

• The statistical unit used in the census was the agricultural holding. • An agricultural holding was defined as an economic unit of agricultural production under a single management comprising of all livestock and poultry kept, and all land used wholly or partly for agricultural production purposes. • In the case of Nepal, an agricultural holding is generally the same as an agricultural household.• Any one of the following conditions was essential for the identification of an agricultural holding:

Having area under crops greater than or equal to a quarter of a Ropani (or four Anaa) in the Hills or Mountains (0.01272 hectares), or greater than or equal to eight Dhur (0.01355 hectares) in the Tarai; or

Keeping one or more heads of cattle or buffaloes; or Keeping five or more heads of sheep or goats; or Keeping 20 or more poultry.

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Methodological approach

• The sampling frame for NSCA 2011/12 was derived from the population census 2011 with complete enumeration for the items:

—Area of the holdings and

—Number of livestock and poultry by type.

• For agricultural census, all the core items recommended by WCA 2010 and major and relevant supplementary items were collected in a sample basis by using single questionnaire in a single visit.

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Sample design

• A two stage stratified sampling design was used in the census

• Each of the 75 districts was considered as a stratum• Rural areas - Wards as Primary sampling Units (PSUs)• Urban areas – Enumeration Areas (EAs) as PSUs• Agricultural holdings as Secondary Sampling Unites

(SSUs)

An EA was defined as either a ward or part of a ward or a combination of wards, the lowest administrative division within VDC/Municipality

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Selection of PSUs• Selection of PSUs at the first stage was done using probability proportional to size (PPS) systematic sampling with number of agricultural holdings in PSUs as a measure of size based on the 2011 Population Census.

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Allocation of PSUs •The total number of PSUs to be selected in the NSCA 2011/12 was set at 5,200. • The domains of study (districts) varied widely with respect to agricultural importance. • It was considered better to have larger samples in the more important districts.• The measure of importance of each district was based on the total area under nine major crops in the district obtained from MoAD. Past three-year averages of these crop-areas were used for the purpose. • The predetermined number of sample PSUs were allocated to 75 strata (districts) by compromise power allocation method.• Samples were allocated to different strata in proportion to xλ, where x is a size measure and the parameter λ = 0.4. (The measure of size for importance of the district being the three year's average area under nine major crops.) • Minimum number of EAs was taken as 50 from each district (livestock was a prime consideration)

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Allocation of PSUs Across Districts

Allocation of PSUs, NSCA 2011/12, Nepal

Number of PSUsTotal number of

Districts PSUs

Less than 60 PSUs 27 1,415

60 – 70 PSUs 16 1,046

70 – 80 PSUs 10 740

80 and more PSUs 22 1,999

Total 75 5,200

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Selection of SSUs  • Agricultural holdings were considered as “second stage units” (SSUs).

• The target number of holdings to be selected from each sampled EA was set at 25.

•The number was adjusted to ensure the self-weighting nature of the sampling design.(based on the ratio of number of holdings at the time of listing and 2011 Population Census)

• The actual number of sampled households varied between 20 and 30. • The selection was based on equal probability linear systematic sampling method. In each of the sampled PSUs, a list of holdings was prepared.

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Selection of SSUs (Cont…..)

 • Before selection, the agricultural households within the sampled EA were classified into following four strata to ensure an implicit stratification:

operating less than 1 bigha/10 ropani,operating 1 bigha/10 ropani or more but less than 3

bigha/20 ropani,operating 3 bigha/20 ropani or more,not operating land but keeping livestock and poultry.

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Geographical Distribution of SSUs

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Sampling frame The major sources of information used for the allocation and selection processes were :

• The list of village development committees (VDCs), municipalities and wards published by the Ministry of Local Development,

• The total area under nine major crops (paddy, maize, wheat, millet, barley, potato, oilseeds, sugarcane and vegetables) published annually by the Ministry of Agricultural Development,

• Number and area of holdings in each ward obtained from the “House/Household Listing Form” of the 2011 National Population and Housing Census, and

• Listings of agricultural holdings in the selected PSUs (the listing was carried out in the field prior to the census enumeration of the NSCA 2011/12 agricultural census itself).

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Sampling frame of SSUs  • Frame for the selection of holdings in each PSU was prepared during the listing phase of the agricultural census.

• In each of the sampled PSUs, a list of holdings was prepared.

• Holdings within each sample PSU were grouped into four strata (on the basis of operated land area or number of livestock kept) to ensure an implicit stratification.

• Selection of SSUs was done in the field using equal probability linear systematic sampling.

• In each PSU, the required number of agricultural households was selected systematically with a given random start. Finally, the list of holdings to be enumerated was prepared.

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Statistical and geographical coverage

•The agriculture census 2011/12 covered whole Nepal, including urban areas.

•Only household sector was included; agricultural activities undertaken by government organization, businesses, etc. were excluded.

•It is also suggested that large private and institutional farms may be included in the Agricultural Census.

•Such large enterprises being only few could be surveyed separately and incorporated in the census results.

•Geographical scope of reporting is National (1), Ecological belt (3), Development Region (5) and District (75) level.

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Statistical and geographical coverage cont…

Units Number

Ecological Belt 3

Development Regions 5

District 75

Agriculture Holding 5,385,271

Total No. of VDC/Mun 3,960

Selected VDC/Mun 3,440

No. of wards 36,022

No. of PSUs 36,257

Sample PSUs 5,200

Sample SSUs 152,137

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Number and type of questionnaires used

•The guidelines of the FAO were accommodated while designing the questionnaire of the agricultural census of 2011/12.

•Most of the questions were carried over from the agricultural census of 2001/02. This facilitated comparison, uniformity and standardization.

•There were three types of household questionnaires used in the census. In addition to this, a community questionnaire was administrated to collect community (PSU level) characteristics.

Schedule 1A (List of Selected Agricultural Holdings)

Schedule 2 (Questionnaire for Individual Agricultural Holdings)

Schedule 1 (Agricultural Holdings Listing Form for the selected PSUs)

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Enumeration period

•The census enumeration work was conducted in two phases.

•In the first phase during January to March 2012, enumeration was carried out in 59 districts in the Tarai and Hills districts.

•The enumeration for the remaining 16 Mountains districts was conducted in April to June 2012 when the climate was more favorable.

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Reference period and date

•The data was collected in respect to the twelve-month reference period of January to December 2011.

•However; land area and livestock were collected in respect of the day of enumeration.

•House/Household listing was done before the 2011population census enumeration (15-31 May)

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Enumeration method

•The enumeration method used in agriculture census 2011/12 was Paper and Pencil Interview (PAPI). •The enumerators interviewed the respondents face-to-face and data is collected by the enumerators using paper questionnaires.

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Census innovations

•The census included the production of the major temporary and permanent crops.•In addition to this, a community questionnaire was administrated to collect community (PSU level) characteristics.•The census was carried out by the Government budget fully. •Data processing was done in-house by giving an incentive to data entry operators on key-stroke basis.

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Census budget

•The cost of the 2011/12 National Sample Census of Agricultural was about US$ 1.43 million funded by the Government.

•It excludes the salary of regular staff.

•The sample design review was done with the technical support of FAO.

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Census Reports/Micro-data

Census Reports The main census results are being published by the CBS in a series of 85 reports and each of the reports contain the same set of 32 tables.

• one national level report; • reports for each of the five development regions; • reports for each of the three ecological belts; • reports for each of the 75 districts; • and a report presenting a summary of district level data.

 Availability of census micro-data In addition to the census reports, for the first time census micro-data are also have been made available for sale. The pricing is as follows:

• Nepalese individuals: NRs. 3,000;• GoN, and NGOs: NRs 5,000;• Other users: US$ 300.

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Relevant links to census instruments

•The documents and reports related to agricultural census of Nepal can be accessed through the CBS website.

• The links are as follows;http://cbs.gov.np/sectoral_statistics/agriculture

http://cbs.gov.np/sectoral_statistics/agriculture/district_summary

http://cbs.gov.np/image/data/Agriculture/National%20Level/NATIONAL%20REPORT%202011_12.pdf

http://cbs.gov.np/image/data/Agriculture/National%20Sample%20Census%20of%20Agriculture%202011-12/National%20Sample%20Census%20of%20Agriculture%20Nepal%202011-12.pdf

http://cbs.gov.np/image/data/Agriculture/Metadata%20Agriculture/Metadata_Agriculture.pdf

http://cbs.gov.np/sectoral_statistics/agriculture/agriculture_monograph_preface_and_contents

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THANK YOU