Abstract
Milk is an important source of cash and nutrients for many households in developing countries. Yet, our understanding of the role of dairy production in livelihoods and nutritional outcomes is hindered by the lack of decent quality household survey data. Data on milk off-take for human consumption are difficult to collect in household surveys for a number of reasons which make accurate recall challenging for the respondent (continuous production and seasonality among others), introducing possibly severe biases in the computation of full household incomes and farm sales, as well as in the estimation of the contribution of livestock (specifically dairy) production to agricultural value added and the livelihoods of rural households.This paper presents results from a validation exercise implemented in Niger, where alternative survey instruments based on recall methods were administered to randomly selected households, and compared to a 12-month system of physical monitoring and recording of milk production. The results of the exercise show that reasonably accurate estimates via recall methods are possible, and provide a clear ranking of questionnaire design options that can inform future survey operations.
Highlights
Introduction and backgroundDespite the importance of the agricultural sector and its critical role in development policy and for poverty reduction, serious weaknesses in agricultural statistics persist throughout the developing world and are pronounced in Africa
This paper aims to contribute to improving the practices for data collection on one specific item, milk, of major importance for livelihoods, income, food security and nutrition in many parts of Africa based on fieldwork in one of the African countries, Niger, where livestock constitutes the backbone of the rural economy
While there has been a renewed interested in the research over the nexus between agriculture, poverty and nutrition in recent years, associated with the increase in international food prices, this has not been matched by an improvement in the state of agricultural statistics
Summary
Despite the importance of the agricultural sector and its critical role in development policy and for poverty reduction, serious weaknesses in agricultural statistics persist throughout the developing world and are pronounced in Africa. Of the 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa rated by the Food and Agriculture Organization, only two are considered to have high standards in data collection while standards in 21 countries remain low (Carletto, 2009). Statistics on livestock stand out as an area in particular need for improvement. There are important technical reasons, besides institutional and political neglect, that explain why livestock data are scarce or of dubious quality. Unlike crops, which are rooted in a specific tract of land and can be counted and measured, livestock are mobile, posing a challenge to enumeration even in sedentary livestock systems.
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