Pastoralists-driven Data Management System in Argentina, 2018-2019.
Argentina, 2018 - 2019
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ARG_2018-2019_PDMS_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
Pastoralists-driven Data Management System in Argentina, 2018-2019.
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Argentina | ARG |
Agricultural Survey [ag/oth]
This is part of a global project on Pastoralist-driven Data Management Systems. Similar studies were also conducted in Chad and Mongolia.
Basic information is lacking about many pastoralist areas in the world. As a result, many services, programmes and policies do not effectively address the needs of pastoralist communities. The Government Cooperative Programme (GCP) project GCP/GLO/779/IF “Pastoralists-driven Data Management System”, was based on the idea that pastoralist associations could themselves collect, manage and share data from among their communities. This information could then be used to advocate for better targeted and pastoralist-friendly policies at local, national and international level. The project aimed at strengthening the capacities of pastoral organizations in data collection, analysis and information management, in order to facilitate evidence-based policy decision-making. It was implemented in Argentina, Chad and Mongolia, managed by the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub (PKH), and supported by the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (Agricultural Research Centre for International Development [CIRAD]).
In Argentina, the project was implemented by the Gran Chaco Foundation (Fundación Gran Chaco). An innovative approach for collecting data was developed through close partnership among the stakeholders involved, and was adopted during two successive surveys. The two questionnaires for collecting data on pastoralism were discussed and adapted to the national contexts, through the contribution of the participants and their deep knowledge of the field. This was one of the most innovative and successful aspects of the project, i.e. the pertinence of the method, as a result of the proactive involvement of the beneficiaries. The first survey, which aimed to identify and describe the pastoralist population, gathered information on 7,151 households. The second survey, which was more in-depth and aimed to assess the pastoralist economy and its contribution to the national economies, was conducted on a sample (based on the results of the first survey) of 1,195 households. As well as demonstrating that pastoralist organizations had the potential to successfully manage data, the surveys revealed the actual contribution of pastoralism to the economy of the country. In particular, they showed that pastoralism contributed to the national economy more than studies usually indicated, as, owing to specific characteristics, such as high levels of self-consumption, pastoralists' contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was often underestimated . During the project, it emerged that pastoralism could contribute up to 12 percent to the GDP of Argentina.
Sample survey data [ssd]
Households
Scope
The survey was conducted in two stages. The description of scope for the first stage includes the identification and description of pastoral households. The second survey was conducted on a sample of the pastoralist population, as estimated based on the previous survey. The aim was to gather information on the pastoralist economy and on the contribution of pastoralism to the national GDP.
Coverage
National coverage
Pastoralist Households
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Fundación Gran Chaco | |
| Pastoralist Knowledge Hub | Food and Agriculture Organization |
| Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Research Centre for International Development | Technical assistance in methodology and data analysis | |
| Pastoralist Knowledge Hub | Food and Agriculture Organization | Technical assistance |
| Ministry of Social Development | Government of Argentina |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| International Fund for Agricultural Development | Funding |
Sampling
The first survey, which aimed to identify and describe the pastoralist population, gathered information on 6,532 households in Argentina. The first survey was based on primary data collection in the field by volunteers and existing smaller databases, which had previously been created by grassroots organizations on the occasion of extraordinary events, such as droughts. The participant collectors were around 35, who used the Open Foris Collect mobile application through tablets or smartphones to interview the households. Each volunteer conducted varying number of interviews, from 30 to 200, depending on their possibilities, which resulted in a total of 6,532 interviewed households.
The second survey, which was more in-depth and aimed to assess the pastoralist economy and its contribution to the national economies, was conducted on a sample (based on the results of the first survey) of 1,198 households in Argentina.
Sample weights were calculated for each of the data files.
Survey instrument
The survey was conducted in 2 rounds. For the first round, a short questionnaire was submitted to a representative of each household, addressing the following topics:
i) households' socio-demographic characteristics;
ii) livestock numbers and ownership;
iii) land tenure and access; and
iv) water access and use.
For the second round, the questionnaire focussed on the economic activity of pastoralists and their contribution to the national GDP. It covers the following topics:
i) household identification
ii) socio-demographic characteristics
iii) livestock herd composition
iv) products and final destination
v) agricultural production, fishing and hunting activity
vi) income and sales
vii) household expenses
viii) shock and adaptation strategies.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-10 | 2019-05 | First Round |
| 2019-07 | 2019-09 | Second Round |
| Start date | End date | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-10-01 | 2019-05-31 | 1 |
| 2019-07-01 | 2019-09-30 | 2 |
- Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]
The surveys were conducted by the pastoralist organizations themselves. Each of them relied on a highly variable number of enumerators (from 10 to more than one thousand), and on one or more supervisors validating the collected data. The enumerators were selected by the organizations based on their information technology (IT) skills, level of education, availability, interest, knowledge of the local pastoral communities, and relevant experiences and skills, including language and communication skills (for more details, please see sections below).
The surveys were conducted by the pastoralist organizations themselves. Each of them relied on a highly variable number of enumerators (from 10 to more than one thousand), and on one or more supervisors validating the collected data. The enumerators were selected by the organizations based on their information technology (IT) skills, level of education, availability, interest, knowledge of the local pastoral communities, and relevant experiences and skills, including language and communication skills.
In Argentina, the database of the first survey was created through primary data collected in the field by volunteers and existing smaller databases, which had previously been created by grassroots organizations on the occasion of extraordinary events, such as droughts. The participant collectors were around 35, who used the Open Foris Collect mobile application through tablets or smartphones to interview the households. Each volunteer collected a highly variable number of interviews, from 30 to 200, depending on their possibilities, for a total of 6,532 records.
Most of the collectors for the first survey did not contribute to the second one. They were mainly from grassroots institutions and knew the field well, enabling them to reach a large number of households. However, they did not have the technical skills that were required for the second survey. Thus, Fundación Gran Chaco sought to involve data collectors with more specific technical expertise. However, the work that was carried out for the first survey contributed to creating a network of reliable people that would subsequently be selected as data collectors.
Through 10 small in-person training sessions, Fundación Gran Chaco trained around 20 data collectors, who in turn trained other colleagues. This process resulted in 43 data collectors trained and participating in the second survey, and in the completion of 1,198 interviews. They were paid on a performance basis. Most of them used paper-based questionnaires, and subsequently entered the data into the Open Foris Collect server. They faced some difficulties using the mobile application in the field, owing to a weak internet connection. Some of them filled in questionnaires in Word format and sent them to Fundación Gran Chaco, which collaborated with some interns to enter all the interviews into the server. Although this method slowed down the survey implementation, it also allowed for a double-checking process to better verify the correctness of the received information.
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | The users shall not take any action with the purpose of identifying any individual entity (i.e. person, household, enterprise, etc.) in the micro dataset(s). If such a disclosure is made inadvertently, no use will be made of the information, and it will be reported immediately to FAO. |
Micro datasets disseminated by FAO shall only be allowed for research and statistical purposes. Any user which requests access working for a commercial company will not be granted access to any micro dataset regardless of their specified purpose. Users requesting access to any datasets must agree to the following minimal conditions:
- The micro dataset will only be used for statistical and/or research purposes;
- Any results derived from the micro dataset will be used solely for reporting aggregated information, and not for any specific individual entities or data subjects;
- The users shall not take any action with the purpose of identifying any individual entity (i.e. person, household, enterprise, etc.) in the micro dataset(s). If such a disclosure is made inadvertently, no use will be made of the information, and it will be reported immediately to FAO;
- The micro dataset cannot be re-disseminated by users or shared with anyone other than the individuals that are granted access to the micro dataset by FAO.
Fundación Gran Chaco, Pastoralist Knowledge Hub (FAO), CIRAD. Pastoralists-driven Data Management System in Argentina, 2018-2019. Dataset downloaded from https://microdata.fao.org.
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Gregorio VelascoGil | Food and Agriculture Organization | [email protected] |
Metadata production
DDI_ARG_2018-2019_PDMS_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_FAO
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Chief Statistician | Food and Agriculture Organization | Metadata producer |
Metadata version
ARG_2018-2019_PDMS_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_v01