National Sample Census of Agriculture 2011-2012
Nepal, 2012
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NPL_2011-2012_NSCA_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
National Sample Census of Agriculture 2011-2012
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Nepal | NPL |
Agricultural Census [ag/census]
The National Sample Census of Agriculture (NCA) of Nepal 2011/12, conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics is the most recent census of agriculture in His Majestic Government, Nepal. The first census in this country was conducted in 1961/62. Since then, the Census of Agriculture has been conducted decennially: 1971/72, 1981/82, 1991/92 and 2001/02.
The National Sample Census of Agriculture (NSCA) 2011/12 conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics is the most recent census of agriculture in Government of Nepal. The first census in this country was conducted in 1961/62. Since then the Census of Agriculture has been conducted decennially: 1971/72, 1981/82, 1991/92 and 2001/02.
The NSCA 2011/12 was undertaken in two phases. The first phase involved the complete enumeration of all agricultural holdings in the country including the area of the holding and livestock number. The enumeration of all the holdings was an integral activity of the first phase of the National Population and Housing Census 2011. Some questions on agricultural activities were asked to identify the agricultural holding. The second phase of the NSCA 2011 was the selection and enumeration of sample holdings to widen the scope of the census from January to June 2012. Data on agricultural crops gathered refer to calendar year 2011 while the livestock and poultry population refers at the time of enumeration, from January to June 2012.
The main objective of the census of agriculture of Nepal is to publish data at district level on the following:
- Structure and characteristics of the holding such as size, agricultural land use, land tenure, land fragmentation, area planted to crops, number of livestock, and others;
- To provide benchmark data for improving the reliability of estimates from current agricultural survey; and,
- To provide basic data for national, ecological belts and development regions levels for national as well as sub-national policy, planning and decision making purposes.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Agricultural holdings
Scope
The NSCA 2011 adopted most of the recommendations of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the collection of data under the following main headings:
- Identification. Holding and holder identification.
- Holder characteristics. Age and sex of holder; legal status of the holding; use of produce from holding; whether received agricultural loan and the source.
- Demographic and other characteristics. Age and sex of household members. Characteristics of the farm population were gathered in the National Population and Housing Census 2011 but will be included in the NSCA 2011 analysis of results.
- Employment. For agricultural labour: permanent workers by sex and employment of occasional workers. Economic activities of the members of the household of the holder were not taken in the agriculture census because these were already covered in the National Population and Housing Census 2011 but will be included in the analysis of results of the NSCA 2011.
- Land and water. For holding as a whole: number of parcels; area; type of land; irrigated land, source of irrigation; etc. For each parcel: area; type of land; type of soil, color of soil; irrigated; area rented from others; whether rented out land; land use (whether arable, land under temporary crops, temporary meadow, temporary fallow; land under permanent crops; permanent meadows and pasture; pond; woodland/forest; and land not elsewhere classified) land tenure; and part of holding made uncultivable due to flooding and/or soil erosion during the reference year.
- Crops. Temporary crops: name of crops grown and area harvested on each parcel. Permanent crops: name of crops grown for each parcel; number of trees of productive and non-productive ages in compact plantations; and number of scattered trees. Use of agricultural inputs for major crops: type of seed; fertilizers, organic and inorganic: area and quantity of inorganic (chemical) fertilizer used; pesticides; use of irrigation and high yielding varieties of seeds; cropping patterns for each parcel, whether pure stand, mixed crop, or associated crop.
- Livestock. Animal numbers by type according to age and sex; poultry numbers: chicken classified by sex and for female, whether laying eggs or not.
- Machinery and equipment. Use of items of agricultural machinery and equipment; number of items; and source (owned by holder, common, landlord, or others).
- Buildings and other structures. Whether non-residential buildings used for agricultural purposes; tenure and type of these buildings.
- Ancillary activities on the holding. Existence of forest trees and fisheries on the holding; number of forest trees; type and area of fishing installation.
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Rural Development | World Bank |
| Forests & Forestry | World Bank |
Coverage
National Coverage
All agricultural households having a minimum specified agricultural land area operated by holding. A holding was considered to be an agricultural unit satisfying any one of the following conditions:
- having area under crops greater than or equal to a quarter of a ropani (or four anna) in the hill or mountain district (0.01272 hectares), or greater than or equal to eight dhur (0.01355 hectares) in the Terai; or
- keeping one or more head of cattle or buffaloes; or
- keeping five or more head of sheep or goats; or
- keeping 20 or more poultry.
A household with livestock but no land was not considered a holding if the household did not use the livestock for agricultural purposes (e.g. a livestock trader). The holding includes all land operated, whether or not it is owned by the holding. The holding's land may consist of one or more parcels located in one or more separate areas within a district. The holding is generally the same as a household.Public grazing land is excluded. Land owned jointly by more than one person for grazing or for other purposes is included.
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Central Bureau of Statistics | National Planning Commission Secretariat, Government of Nepal |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Agriculture Development | GoN | Input in questionnaire design |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Government of Nepal | Overall implementation of survey undertaking |
| Food and Agriculture Organization | Providing the national and international consultants for sampling design |
Sampling
A two-stage area sampling was employed in the selection of the samples for enumeration to obtain the characteristics of the holdings for the NSCA 2011.
The first stage: selection of a stratified sample of enumeration areas (EAs) with probability proportional to the expected number of holdings (stratified PPS sampling);
The second stage: within selected EAs, the selection of a sample agricultural holding using stratified systematic random sampling.
Enumeration areas were defined as wards or, in cases where wards contained less than 25 holdings, combinations of wards. In cases of very large wards, smaller segments were prepared for making sizable EAs. For such wards, the block maps prepared during the 2011 population census were used.
The number of EAs allocated for each district was determined on the basis of the total area under the nine major crops in the district ( Xd). The average area of the nine major crops (for the last three years) published by the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) was the measure of size for the allocation.
However, the districts having less than 50 EAs were assigned to 50 EAs for better estimation. Thus, districts varied from 50 to 107 EAs according to their agricultural importance. Between 20 and 30 holdings were selected in each selected EA. To select the sample, holdings were divided into four strata (based on the size of the holding) and systematic random sampling was applied in each stratum. Holdings were identified on the basis of the place of residence of the person operating the holding. The sample selection was done in such a way that all holdings in a given district had the same chance of selection in the sample. Manang District was completely enumerated because it had only a small number of holdings. Altogether, 5,200 EAs were selected. The final sample of the holdings for the country was 1,24,144.
NA
The Census of Agriculture sample was designed to be self-weighting within each district, i.e. all holdings within a district have the same chance of being included in the sample. Sample weights are available for each of the data files and is called samplewgt.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2012-01 | 2012-03 | First Phase |
| 2012-04 | 2012-06 | Second Phase |
Data processing
The data were subjected to the following editing processes:
- Manual editing and coding were done at the head office after collecting the filled questionnaires.
- Completeness check after data entry done by a completeness checking computer program.
- Machine editing by machine editing program.
Data appraisal
A pilot survey was conducted in 2010. Training for district officers and supervisors was held in the centre and training for the field supervisors and enumerators was held in districts at the beginning of the field work. On the average, one hour is taken for filling the questionnaire i.e. schedule. Nepali national language was used for conducting the interviews.
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | Refer to http://www.cbs.gov.np/nada |
Refer to http://www.cbs.gov.np/nada
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
Metadata production
DDI_NPL_2011-2012_NSCA_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_FAO
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Chief Statistician | Food and Agriculture Organization | Metadata adapted for FAM |
| Central Bureau of Statistics | National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal | Metadata producer |
Metadata version
NPL_2011-2012_NSCA_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_v01