Census of Agriculture, 2006-2007
Malawi, 2007
Identification
MWI_2006-2007_AC_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
Census of Agriculture, 2006-2007
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Malawi | MWI |
Agricultural Census [ag/census]
The Census of Agriculture (CA) 2006/2007, to which this metadata review and data refer, is the fourth CA conducted in Malawi. The first one was conducted in 1968/1969, the second in 1980/1981 and the third in 1991/1992.
Malawi’s economic growth and development depends on the agricultural sector. In order to plan for agricultural development, comprehensive, reliable and up to date data on state of agriculture, ownership,
use of agricultural land, volume and value of production are essential. Reliable data of food and agricultural production for marketing and own consumption are also required for poverty reduction, food
security management and estimation of agricultural GDP. Data on various aspects of agriculture are also required for monitoring of agricultural development programmes. The last agricultural sample census was
carried out in 1991/92. Given the large demographic, economic and social changes since 1991/92, it is therefore important to get up to date information.
Basic objectives:
· To provide data for clarifying the social and economic factors affecting the country’s agricultural structure by interrelating various characteristics of the holding
· To provide aggregate totals for fundamental agricultural data from both smallholder and commercial sectors for use as the benchmark for inter-censual estimates
· To provide basic data for the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive integrated system of food and agriculture
· To analyse food security at the household level
· To provide basic data regarding current use and changes in agriculture
· To enable government to formulate plans to improve productivity especially of smallholder sector
· To provide a frame for other agricultural sample surveys
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Households
Scope
The scope of the study covered topics related to agriculture, marketing, livestock and health related issues.
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Rural Development | FAO |
| Food (production, crisis) | FAO |
| Land (policy, resource management) | FAO |
| Trade | FAO |
| Livestock | FAO |
Coverage
National coverage
statistical unit was the agricultural production household ("agricultural household").
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| National Statistical Office (NSO) | Government of Malawi |
| Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS) | Government of Malawi |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Statistics Norway | Technical assistance |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| The Norwegian Government | Funding |
Sampling
SAMPLE FRAME AND DESIGN
The CA 2006/2007 was conducted based on a sample enumeration. The Malawi Population and Housing Census (MPHC) 1998 provided the frame of EAs for the CA 2006/2007. The sampling frame of agricultural households was built on the basis of the listing of households from the sampled EAs.Each district was stratified by agro-ecological zones and each EA was stratified by land cultivated (small-scale farmers and large-scale farmers). Sampling of households was undertaken based upon the listing of households, four strata were identified (estate households, large-scale smallholders, small-scale smallholders and landless households). All estates were included in the AC, while landless households were not in the target population. Actual sampling was done among small-scale and large-scale smallholders. It was decided to select five large-scale and ten small-scale households from each EA. Where less than five large-scale households were found, the number of small-scale households sampled was increased correspondingly in order to achieve a total of 15 from each EA.
A two stage sample design was used; where the first sampling units were the Enumeration Areas (EAs) and the second sampling units were farming households. Stratification was done at district level and at
EA level. Each district was stratified by agro-ecological zones and each EA was stratified by land cultivated (small scale farmers and large scale farmers). This stratification was done to improve the precision of the estimates by reducing the variance between EA and within EA. The total sample size was 25 000 households nationwide. The sample size at EA level was 15 households.
Survey instrument
The CA used a set of nine questionnaires ("modules"). Eight questionnaires were used for holding-level data collection:
(1) Household Composition
(2) Land Parcels
(3) Plot Details (information on production and area)
(4) Food Security and HIV/AIDS
(5) Marketing
(6) Welfare Monitoring Survey
(7) Livestock Survey
(8) Estate Survey
The Village Facility Survey questionnaire was used to collect community-level data. The CA questionnaires covered 12 of the 16 core items4 recommended for the WCA 2010 round. (The following core items were not covered by the CA: (i) "Legal status of agricultural holder"; (ii) "Presence of aquaculture on the holding"; (iii) "Presence of forests and other woodland on the holding"; (iv) "Other economic production activities of the holding's enterprise".)
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2007-01 | 2007-10 |
· the 2007 crop year (from January to October 2007), for items such as production of crops, inputs for crops
· the 12 preceding months (in relation to the date of data collection), for items such as the participation of household members in cooperative agricultural work or livestock disposed of
· the seven preceding days (in relation to the date of data collection), for food security items and income sources for food consumed
Objective measurement was also applied to measure the areas of land parcels and plots.
Data processing
-
DATA PROCESSING AND ARCHIVING
Data entry was accomplished by scanning the questionnaires using the Eyes and Hands software. Data processing and analysis was done using SPSS. -
CENSUS DATA QUALITY
There was an effort to reconcile the CA 2006/2007 data with the estimates from the MoAFS annual Agriculture Production Estimation Survey (APES); however, the APES estimates were significantly higher and the evaluation was inconclusive.
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | See http://www.nsomalawi.mw/ |
CONTACT:
National Statistical Office, Agriculture and Natural Resources Division
Address: P.O. BOX. 333, Zomba, Malawi
Telephone: (+265) 1524377 / 311
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 | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Statistical Office | Government of Malawi | [email protected] | http://www.nsomalawi.mw/ |
Metadata production
DDI_MWI_2006-2007_CA_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
MWI_2006-2007_CA_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_v01