World Programme for the Census of Agriculture http://www.fao.org/world-census-agriculture/it/

1. Regional Roundtable
World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020
Nairobi, Kenya, 18th - 22nd September 2017
Paul N’Goma-Kimbatsa
Statistician-Economist, FAO Regional
Office for Africa RAF
LINKING POPULATION AND HOUSING
CENSUS WITH AGRICULTURAL CENSUS
Technical
Session 4

2. CONTENTS
• BACKGROUND
• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PHC AND THE AC
• WAYS TO LINK PHC AND AC
• MAIN ADVANTAGES OF LINKING BOTH CENSUSES
• COLLECTING AGRICULTURAL DATA IN THE PHC
• QUESTIONS RELATED TO AGRICULTURE IN THE PHC
• COUNTRY EXPERIENCES 2

3. BACKGROUND
• Historically population censuses and agricultural
censuses were undertaken as two independent and
separate operations.
• Experience has shown that the coordination and
linkage of both operations have desired consequences
reducing costs, improving the building of frames for
the agricultural census, increasing the overall quality
of the censuses.
• The FAO World Programme for the Census of
Agriculture 2020 (WCA 2020) strongly recommends
that countries coordinate the agricultural census (AC)
with the population and housing census (PHC), during
the early stages of census planning. 3

4. CA AND PHC: SOME FEATURES
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a. STATISTICAL UNITS:
- In the PHC: the Household
- In the AC: the Agricultural Holding
The common unit is the household engaged in own-account agricultural activities.
Normally, there is only one agricultural holding in a household, and it is this one-to-
one correspondence which allows integration of the two censuses. Other cases can
be dealt with in several ways in order to match the holdings to the households.
In practice, countries decide on the most suitable approach in their context.
b. WAYS TO COORDINATE BOTH CENSUSES:
 Use of common concepts, definitions and classifications;
 Sharing field materials;
 Using the listing of the population census as a starting point for the frame
for the household sector of the agricultural census;
 Collecting agriculture data as additional items in the population census,
either as basic items or frame items through an agriculture module.

5. MAIN ADVANTAGES OF LINKING BOTH CENSUSES
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• Reduction of the total cost of the two censuses (the
same infrastructure, logistics, equipment can be used
for both censuses).
• Reduction of the scope of the agricultural census.
• Enrichment of data analysis from the two censuses.
• Ensuring regular agricultural census operations.
• Obtaining a reliable frame for the agricultural census.
• Optimization of sampling designs of the agricultural
census.
• Better defining the agricultural census coverage.

6. OBTAINING A RELIABLE FRAME FOR THE
AGRICULTURAL CENSUS
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• Access to an up-to-date and reliable frame of agricultural
holdings – including both household and non-household
operated holdings - is a major problem for the census of
agriculture in many developing countries.
• The frame of agricultural holdings in the non-household
sector can be fairly readily compiled from land and business
registers, lists of large/commercial farms and other
administrative and statistical sources.
• The PHC provides a unique opportunity for identifying all
agricultural households, including in urban areas, for
developing an up-to-date, reliable frame as a starting point for
agricultural censuses and surveys.

7. OPTIMIZATION OF SAMPLING DESIGNS
OF THE AGRICULTURAL CENSUS
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In many developing countries, particularly in Africa,
agricultural censuses are conducted using large samples to
generate results at small administrative unit level.
Agricultural information collected during the population
and housing census can be used to improve sample design
and identify optimal sample size, e.g.:
- To better stratify and allocate the sample between
strata and between different stages - when multi-stage
cluster sampling is used;
- To provide an up-to-date size measure - when
probability proportional to size (PPS) method is used.

8. BETTER DEFINING THE AGRICULTURAL
CENSUS COVERAGE
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• Minimum size limits, on variables such as numbers of livestock, numbers of
tree crops, area of land, value of annual sales, and purpose of production are
used in most countries to determine whether a household’s agricultural
activity qualifies as a holding or not. This basic information can be collected
during the PHC through the standard visitation record or through a separate
section in the household questionnaire.
• The information can also be collected as part of the pre-census cartography
and fieldwork. In addition to providing a frame, this has advantages for the
design of the agricultural census.
• For example, based on the agriculture-related information collected during
the PHC the minimum size criteria can be set for the AC. Efforts, and
resources for data collection in the AC could then be focused on the more
productive holdings.

9. COLLECTING AGRICULTURAL DATA IN THE PHC
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Two topics regarding agriculture-related items are
recommended by UN in the Principles and
Recommendations for the WCA 2020 round to be
included in the PHC:
1. At the household level, information is collected
to identify households engaged in own-
account agricultural production;
2. At the individual person level, information is
collected to identify persons involved in
agricultural activities during a long reference
period, such as a year before the census.

10. COLLECTING AGRICULTURAL DATA IN THE PHC (cont’d.)
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Identification of households engaged in own-account agricultural production
is especially useful for establishing a frame for a subsequent agricultural
census and surveys.
For this purpose, the basic items recommended by the WCA 2020 to be
included in a PHC are:
1. Whether the household is engaged in any form of own-account
agriculture production;
2. Measure of farm size, such as the area of land (or number of
plots) used for agricultural production purposes, and the number
of livestock.
Information on forestry, fishery and aquaculture activities may also be
collected through the population and housing census in cases when they are
important for a country. This information would facilitate the preparation of
the frame when countries wish to conduct a subsequent agriculture census
which goes beyond the scope of agriculture

11. COLLECTING AGRICULTURAL DATA IN THE PHC (cont’d.)
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Countries wishing to collect more extensive data on agriculture may
include an agriculture module in the population and housing census,
consisting of a selection from the listed frame items of WCA 2020, such as:
• Item 0101: Identification and location of agricultural holding;
• Item 0107: Main purpose of production of the holding
• Item 0201: Total area of holding
• Item 0301: Use of irrigation on the holding: fully and partially
controlled irrigation
• Item 0401: Types of temporary crops on the holding
• Item 0405: Types of permanent crops on the holding and
whether in compact plantations
• Item 0502: Number of animals (by livestock types relevant
for the country) Item 1201: Presence of aquaculture
on the holding
• Item 1301: Presence of woodland on the holding
• Item 1401: Engagement of household members in fishing

12. HOW TO COLLECT AGRICULTURE RELATED DATA?
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• The required household-level information can be collected as part
of the main enumeration. In the case of the basic items these can
alternatively be included in the pre-census listing/cartographic
phase of the population census so as not to overburden the PHC
questionnaire.
• The latter approach has an additional advantage that the frame for
the AC can be compiled directly from the listing/cartographic
exercise without having to wait for the questionnaire to be
processed.
• The inclusion of an agriculture module or some agriculture-related
frame items in the PHC can be useful for countries planning to
conduct the AC as a modular approach. In this case the core
module AC can be collected during the PHC and the agriculture
census would focus on the supplementary modules, conducted on
a sample basis.

13. COUNTRY PRACTICES
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Uganda Census of Agriculture 2008/2009:
The Uganda Population and Housing Census 2002 included an Agricultural Module.
Its main objective was to provide core data for constructing the frame for the
agricultural census. The following questions were included:
• Holding/farm - Does any member of this household engage in the following: Crop
growing; livestock rearing; poultry keeping; fish farming? (Yes/No); What is the
size of the holding?
• Crops - Did the household grow crops during the last season? Yes/No. If Yes enter
crop code (for each crop) and number of plots under which it was cultivated.
• Livestock - If household is engaged in livestock rearing enter the appropriate
livestock code and the number of livestock as of the enumeration day.
• Poultry - If household is engaged in poultry keeping enter the appropriate poultry
code and the average number of poultry reared per month in the last three
months.
• Fish farming - If this household is engaged in fish farming (aquaculture) enter the
number of fish ponds by type.

14. Thank you
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