Agricultural Census, 2014
Mauritius, 2014
Identification
MRT_2014_AC_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
Agricultural Census, 2014
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Mauritius | MRT |
Agricultural Survey [ag/oth]
The first Agricultural Census (AC) was carried out in the Republic of Mauritius in 1930 and the second AC in 1940. The AC 2014 was the first AC to be carried out after more than 70 years.
A census of agriculture consists of the statistical operations for collecting, processing and disseminating data on the structure of agriculture. Usually the whole country is covered, however, under certain circumstances only a significant part of it may be covered. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations recommends that every country should conduct Agricultural Censuses every 10 years. In this context, the present Agricultural Census was carried out in Mauritius in 2014 by Statistics Mauritius with the collaboration of FAO and the Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security. The World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2010 guidelines published by the FAO was followed. Several important aspects related to agriculture were covered including number of farmers, characteristics of households, farm activities, land use, land tenure, type of crops grown, livestock reared and marketing aspects. The purpose of this report is to present the results and analysis of data collected in relation to the land use section of the Census.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Households
Scope
The scope of the study covered the following areas:
· Identification of farmers
· Characteristics of household
· Agricultural activities on farm
· Main purpose of production
· Number of paid employees
· Land use and tenure for agricultural production
· Temporary and permanent crop production
· Livestock
· Agricultural practices
· Marketing practices
· Agricultural loans
· Agricultural associations/affiliations
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Rural Development | FAO |
| Food (production, crisis) | FAO |
| Land (policy, resource management) | FAO |
| Livestock | FAO |
| Trade | FAO |
| Access to Finance | FAO |
Coverage
National coverage
The statistical unit was the agricultural holding, defined as "an economic unit of agricultural production under single management, comprising all livestock kept and all land used for agricultural production purposes without regard to title, legal form or size". The AC covered both the holdings:
(i) in the household sector, or "agricultural businesses" (namely corporations, NGOs, government institutions etc.);
(ii) most commonly, those in the non-household sector. In the household sector, a distinction was made between "household farms" and "private households"
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| Statistics Mauritius (SM) |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute | Technical assistance |
| Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security | Technical assistance |
| Food and Agriculture Organization | Technical assistance |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Finance and Economic Development | Funding |
Sampling
i Methodological modality for conducting the census
The AC 2014 was conducted in three phases, depending on the type of the holding: (i) for agricultural businesses, from July to December 2014; (ii) for "household farms", from July to September 2014 (using a long form); and (iii) for "private households", from October to November 2014 (using a short form).
ii. Frame
The frame for the holdings in the non-household sector consisted of a list of agricultural establishments obtained from the MAIFS, the FARE! and other administrative sources. The sampling frame for the holdings in the household sector was built based on administrative data sources and the information collected in the 2011 Housing and Population Census.
iii. Complete and/or sample enumeration methods
For the AC 2014, a complete enumeration was carried out for the holdings in the non-household sector. Sample enumeration was undertaken for those in the household sector.
iv. Sample design
The sample design for "household farms" was a stratified random sampling. The sample comprised 10 339 farms, representing 38 percent of the estimated number of "household farms".
The sample design for "private households" was a stratified cluster sampling. A sample of 32 clusters (25 for Mauritius and 7 for Rodrigues) was drawn and each "private household" in the selected cluster was interviewed. A total sample of 8 778 private households was drawn. This represented approximately 2 percent of households in the Island of Mauritius and approximately 13 percent in the Island of Rodrigues.
Survey instrument
Three types of questionnaires were used in the AC 2014:
(i) a business questionnaire (CA1) - for holdings in the non-household sector;
(ii) a farm questionnaire (CA3) - for "household farms" (using a long form);
(ii) a household questionnaire (CA4) - for "private households" (using a short form).
All 16 core items recommended by FAO were covered in the AC 2014. The core items covered were:
0001 Identification and location of agricultural holding
0002+ Legal status of agricultural holder
0003 Sex of agricultural holder
0004 Age of agricultural holder
0005 Household size
0006 Main purpose of production of the holding
0007 Area of holding according to land use types
0008 Total area of holding
0009 Land tenure types on the holding
0010 Presence of irrigation on the holding
0011 Types of temporary crops on the holding
0012 Types of permanent crops on the holding and whether in compact plantation
0013 Number of animals on the holding for each livestock type
0014 Presence of aquaculture on the holding
0015+ Presence of forest and other wooded land on the holding
0016 Other economic production activities of the holding’s enterprise
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-07 | 2014-08 | Data collection: Agricultural businesses |
| 2014-10 | 2014-11 | Data collection: Private households |
| 2014-12 | Data collection: Agricultural businesses |
The 12-month period preceding the census (from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014), for items on crops, labour, livestock sold, etc.
Data processing
-
DATA PROCESSING AND ARCHIVING
The entire data processing exercise (except for data capture, which was contracted out) was done in-house using the CSPro software. The coded questionnaires were sent in batches to the service provider, which ran validation and consistency checks. Validation reports were then submitted to SM after the data capture. Data files in text and Microsoft Excel formats were made available to SM after working on the validation reports. The tables with census results were compiled in-house using the CSPro software. -
CENSUS DATA QUALITY
During the data collection stage, possible sources of errors were reduced by: (a) intensive training of field staff, which was provided with a detailed instruction manual; (b) well-designed questionnaires; (c) close supervision of the fieldwork; (d) re-interviews being conducted to clear queries and ensure corrections of the data collected; and (e) intensive editing and consistency checks carried out in the office, during which outliers were flagged and reported to supervisory staff for call-backs if necessary.
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | See https://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/Pages/default.aspx |
CONTACT:
Statistics Mauritius
Address: First Floor, LIC Centre, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis, Mauritius
Telephone: (+230) 2081800 / 2114150
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses
Contacts
| Name | URL | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics Mauritius | [email protected] | http://statsmauritius.govmu.org |
Metadata production
DDI_MRT_2014_AC_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_FAO
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Chief Statistician | Food and Agriculture Organization | Adoption of metadata for FAM |
| Census team, Statistics Division | Food and Agriculture Organization | Metadata producer |
Metadata version
MRT_2014_AC_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_v01