Agriculture Census 2019/2020
Lesotho, 2020 - 2021
Identification
LSO_2019_2020_AC_v01_M_v01_A_ESS
Agriculture Census 2019/2020
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Lesotho | LSO |
Agricultural Census [ag/census]
Lesotho has been conducting decennial Agriculture Censuses since 1949. The censuses 1949/1950 and 1960 were both organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, while the censuses 1969/1970, 1979/1980, 1989/1990, 1999/2000, 2009/2010 and 2019/2020 were organized by the Bureau of Statistics.
The main objective of the census was to provide baseline data on agricultural statistics necessary for agricultural planning, policy formulation, and implementation of agricultural programmes as well as projects for improvement of the agricultural section. Further, agriculture is a critical sector for food security, employment creation, poverty alleviation and rural development in Lesotho. The census collected data on households engaged in agricultural activity and commercial farms, as well as data at community level to meet demand for data.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Agricultural holdings
Scope
The census scope covered agricultural activities (crop and livestock production) and aquaculture.
Community-level data were collected in the census 2019/2020. The community questionnaire was designed to collect data at village level on the following items: proximity of village to basic services and institutions such as education, health, services and agricultural facilities; public transport and road network; access to essential utilities, such as community water supply and electricity; groups or cooperative societies and credit institutions; sources of employment; land tenure arrangements; village programmes and services.
The household and commercial farms questionnaires collected information on:
- Identification
- Demographic and social characteristics
- Land use and crops
- Agricultural practices
- Irrigation system
- Services for agriculture
- Farm implement and assets
- Non-residential buildings
- Labour input
- Livestock
Coverage
The Agricultural Census 2019/2020 covered rural areas of the country.
The statistical unit for the census 2019/2020 was the agricultural holding, defined as "an economic unit of agricultural production under single management comprising all livestock kept and all land used wholly or partly for own account agricultural production purposes, without regard to title, legal form, or size".
For the census, all fields regardless of area were covered, i.e. no cut-off threshold for field size was applied. However, households with no fields, no cattle and less than: three sheep or three mixed herd of sheep /goats; two pigs; or five poultry were excluded.
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| Ministry of Finance and Development Planning of Lesotho, Bureau of Statistics |
| Name |
|---|
| Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition of Lesotho |
Sampling
The census was conducted using sample enumeration for holdings in the household sector, that were selected with stratified two-stage cluster sampling, and complete enumeration for commercial farms (growing for sale) which covered agricultural activities (Crops – temporary and permanent and Livestock) on both households and other farms such as cooperatives or corporations.
The sampling frame for the non-household sector was a list provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition of Lesotho through extension officers for ten administrative districts and compiled by the Bureau of Statistics.
The sampling frame for the household sector was the Lesotho Population and Housing Census 2016, and it consisted of a list of enumeration areas (EAs) maintained by the Survey Methods and Cartography Division of the Bureau of Statistics. The listing of households at EA level was conducted from 31 October to 29 November 2020 to provide an updated sampling frame for the selection of sample households.
Groups of two or more EAs constituted the primary sampling units (PSUs). To select respondents, PSUs were first stratified according to the ten administrative districts, namely Botha-Bothe, Leribe, Berea, Maseru, Mafeteng, Mohale's Hoek, Quthing, Qacha's Nek, Mokhotlong, and Thaba-Tseka. Within each district, PSUs were grouped into the four agro-ecological zones: Lowlands, Foothills, Mountains and Senqu River Valley (SRV). Agricultural households were the secondary sampling units (SSUs). Complete enumeration of households engaged in agricultural activity was carried out within the selected 500 PSUs from rural areas, and all four ecological zones were covered. A total of 8000 households were covered in the census.
A community survey was conducted in all PSUs that were selected for the census. All villages in the selected PSUs in the ten administrative districts were covered. Village chiefs, headmen or councilors responded on behalf of their communities.
Survey instrument
Four questionnaires were used for the Agricultural Census 2019/2020 data collection:
- Household listing form
- Household questionnaire
- Commercial farms questionnaire
- Community questionnaire
The questionnaires covered all 23 essential items recommended in the WCA 2020.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-10-31 | 2020-11-29 | Household listing phase |
| 2021-03-07 | 2021-04-13 | Commercial farms phase; Community questionnaire |
Reference day:
- Day of enumeration for inventory items such as livestock heads
Reference period:
- From 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020, for all other variables
- Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]
Census operations involved 337 field staff, of which 50 field supervisors, 12 census coordinators, 250 enumerators, 19 Information technology personnel, and 6 data processing personnel.
The CAPI method using tablets was employed for census data collection. All necessary information for selected primary sampling units (PSUs), including maps, was uploaded into the CAPI application.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
A Post-enumeration Survey (PES) was carried out from 12 May to 19 June 2021 to assess the quality of the census data and particularly to measure the magnitude of non-sampling errors in terms of coverage and content errors. A one-stage stratified sampling design was used in the PES. A sample of 30 PSUs were selected from the list of 500 PSUs used in the census 2019/2020. In the selected PSUs, all the agricultural households selected in the census were re-enumerated. Then, coverage and content errors were estimated for the total agricultural household population. The results indicate a coverage rate of 94.8 percent, omission rate of 5.2 percent and net coverage error of 5.1 percent. Sampling errors, confidence intervals of the estimated indicators and coefficient of variation were computed for several variables.
Data processing
The data was collected using CAPI in CSPro (Census and Surveys Processing System). All captured data was first consolidated into one data file. IBM SPSS Statistics was preferred for further data cleaning (checking for missing data, duplicates, invalid data values and consistency checking) and production of tables. The output tables were exported into Excel for formatting and further analysis.
DATA PROCESSING NOTES
During interviews, data entered on each interviewer's tablet was simultaneously validated for consistency. This later proved beneficial as data from almost all the sections of the census questionnaires were found to be consistent, except for small cases of inconsistency found between age, relationship, marital status and educational level. These inconsistencies were later resolved at the data cleaning stage.
Data Access
For additional information on data access and use, please contact the Bureau of Statistics of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning of Lesotho.
Website: http://www.bos.gov.ls
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Statistics | Ministry of Finance and Development Planning | http://www.bos.gov.ls |
Metadata production
DDI_LSO_2019_2020_AC_v01_M_v01_A_ESS_FAO
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Statistics | Ministry of Finance and Development Planning | Metadata producer | |
| Statistics Division | ESS | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Metadata adapted for FAM |