Crop Production

This indicator measures the extent to which the target households started growing the crops promoted by the project.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with the heads of a representative sample of the target households:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: Can you please tell me all the crops that your household grew during the last season? (keep probing: “What other crops did you grow?”)

A1: pre-define all types of crops that the farmers might grow (multiple answers possible) + include option “did not grow any crops”

Count how many types of promoted crops each respondent’s household grew during the last season.

To calculate the indicator’s value:

- Divide the number of respondents whose households during the last season grew at least two of the promoted types of crops by the total number of respondents

- Multiply the resulting number by 100 to convert it to a percentage

- Multiply the percentage by the total number of the target households

- The resulting number is the “number of target households who grew at least two of the promoted types of crops during the last season”

See example: 200 surveyed households grew at least two of the promoted types of crops divided by a total of 400 surveyed households equals 0.5. This multiplied by 100 equals 50%. If the total number of the target households is 10,000, then 50% out of 10,000 is 5,000 households growing at least two of the promoted types of crops.

Disaggregate the data by the households’ wealth.

1) If you work with a small number of households (e.g. up to 400 households), you can interview them all – in such a case, you do not have to use a representative sample of households and do not have to use the calculation described above.

2) Keep in mind that many farmers practice crop rotation. Therefore, if you are interested in whether a given household grows a particular crop, you might need to ask for more than just the past season. Assess the required recall period by interviewing local agriculture extension workers and more advanced farmers.

3) If there is a specific name for the agricultural season that you are interested in, use it. Alternatively, you can specify the time of the season – e.g. “last summer”. Both options will reduce the risk of the respondents misunderstanding what the enumerator is asking about.

4) Farmers often do not report the crops which they planted but due to crop failure or other factors did not harvest. If you want these crops to be included, include in the Q1 a sentence “Please mention also the crops that you planted but could not harvest due to pests, diseases, poor weather or other reasons.”

5) If you are interested in why the respondents’ households did not grow at least two of the promoted crops, consider adding an additional question.