This document discusses the use of technology for field data capture and compilation in agricultural censuses. It provides an overview of Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) software, describing its advantages like easier survey management and higher quality data, as well as disadvantages such as high upfront costs. Examples of CAPI products like Survey Solutions and country experiences using CAPI in Indonesia and Tanzania are presented. A table shows many countries are increasingly using technologies like CAPI, GPS, and online/phone surveys in agricultural censuses.

1. Workshop on
World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020
Amman, Jordan
16-19 May 2016
Use of Technology for field data
capture and compilation
Technical session 19b
Jairo Castano
Senior Statistician
Leader, Agricultural Census and Survey Team
FAO Statistics Division

2.  Overview of CAPI: description, advantages,
disadvantages, products on the market
 Overview of Survey Solutions features
 Country examples: Indonesia and Tanzania
Overview

3. Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI)
software allows recording responses on a
computer or tablet instead of paper.
What is CAPI?

4. • Easier Survey Management
• Reduced variables costs
(No transport costs, no storage costs, no printing costs,
no data-entry costs)
• Reduced time from data collection to
analysis and reporting
• Higher quality data
(Enforced skip patterns, validation conditions, look-up
tables)
What are the advantages of CAPI?

5. Novel question types
 Geo reference, photos, barcodes scanning (for national IDs)
Closer field monitoring
 Export paradata for monitoring activities during
interviews (e.g. start & end time)
 Almost real time export of micro data export
Easier to implement changes to questionnaire
 No need to send questionnaires back and forth to field
What are the advantages of CAPI?

6. High fixed cost
 Can be reduced by using for multiple surveys
Requires more preparation time – programming
and testing questionnaire, procurement
 Time savings on back-end from no data entry
compensates
Many times requires connectivity
 Risks can be reduced by using 2 sim cards, back-
up paper questionnaires, etc.
What are disadvantages of CAPI?

7. Census and Survey Processing System (CSPro) Developed
by the US census bureau and funded primarily by USAID.
Widely used, but lacks survey management tools and requires
programming knowledge. FREE + programming costs
Open Data Kit (ODK): Core developers at UoW – Dpt. Of
Computer Science. Open-sourced, funded partially through
donations of users. FREE+ programming costs
My Survey Solutions: Development supported by the GS,
and first version released in 09.2013. Closed source, but
integrates data management tools, and requires little to no
knowledge of programming. FREE
CAPI Products

8. Global Strategy has implemented surveys on
small sample surveys in Tanzania, Indonesia,
and Jamaica
World Bank in partnership w/ NSOs have
implemented surveys reaching 200K
respondents in Malawi, 400K in Uganda, and
2.7 million in South Africa.
FAO and Survey Solutions

9.  User friendly survey management system
built right into the software.
 Survey designer that requires NO
programming skills
 Cloud based data storage and transfer
 Geo references questions (holding location)
 Can accommodate any type of question
 User-friendly Android application for data
entry
Survey Solutions Features

10.  Documentation on every part of the system
available
 E-learning course to be available later this year
(13 modules)
 Data export available in SPSS and STATA
formats.
 DDI compliant metadata automatically
generated.
 Automatic paradata tabulation for field
Survey Solutions Features (cont’d)

11. • BPS with technical assistance from the Global
Office of the GS implemented multiple
agricultural surveys in 2 provinces using SuSo.
• Data was collected on around 400 households.
• At the end of the project, BPS purchased 2000
tablets and is scaling up CAPI to 7 provinces.
Country Experience - Indonesia

12. • The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries
Development (MLFD) undertook an
randomized control trial (RCT) involving
600 livestock extension officers.
• CAPI allowed results to be available in less
than one month after baseline survey.
• MLFD looking for more opportunities to
expand data collection using CAPI.
Country Experience - Tanzania

13. Country experiences on use of
CAPI, CATI, GPS and other
technologies in census
Country
name
Year of census CAPI/GPS/PDA/CATI/CAWI
Estonia 2010 CAPI, CAWI
France 2010 CAPI
Latvia 2010 CAPI, CATI,CAWI,
Malta 2010 CAPI
Poland 2010 CAPI, CATI,CAWI
Slovenia 2010 CAPI, CATI
Lithuania 2010 CAWI
Netherland 2010 CAWI
Iceland 2010 CAWI
Austria 2010 CAWI
Finlanda 2010 CAWI
Suedia 2010 CAWI, CATI
Mozambique 2009/2010 CAPI, GPS
Venezuela 2008 CAPI, GPS
Argentina 2008 CAPI
Colombia 2014 CAPI
Brazil 2006 CAPI
Mexico 2007 CAPI
Canada 2011 CAWI
USA 2012 CAWI
Australia 2011 CAWI
Jordan 2007 CAPI
Thailand 2013 CAPI
Iran 2014 CAPI
Countries are using more
and more IT technologies
in agricultural censuses for:
 data collection (CAPI,
CAWI, CATI);
 identification of location
for the field operation of each
enumerator (GPS);
 use of web application for
monitoring the progress in
field operation in real time.

14. Thank You