Renewable Natural Resources Census 2009
Bhutan, 2009
Identification
BTN_2009_RNRC_v01_M
Renewable Natural Resources Census 2009
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Bhutan | BTN |
Agricultural Census [ag/census]
This is the second round of the RNR census implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests. The first census was conducted in 2000. Some minor modification was done on the census 2000 questionnaire. Some of the parameters added for the 2009 census were "Sources of Household Income" and "Issues related to Forests".
The natural resources sector (agriculture, livestock and forestry) continues to be the mainstay of the economy and livelihood. Because of the predominance of the sector in the rural economy, the availability of statistics on the RNR activities has ever become the unequivocal prime mover in the rural development. However, due to lack of sufficient, comprehensive and reliable data, the planning and execution of RNR development plans and programmes has often been handicapped. Therefore, the principal objectives of the RNR Census 2009 are the following:
-
To provide updated and reliable statistical information on RNR activities at all administrative units for efficient monitoring, planning and policy making;
-
To enable an efficient study of small holding communities to facilitate government plans and programs to assist small farmers effectively;
-
To provide baseline data for monitoring of millennium development goals (MDGs), particularly poverty and food security situations;
-
To provide basis for improvement of the RNR statistical information system; and
-
To facilitate the ongoing Royal Government's efforts to streamline information sharing and evaluation of planned development activities.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
- Household
- Geog (sub-districts)
- Dzongkhag (districts)
Version
Version 2.0: For external use
2010-08-10
Scope
The data parameters collected for the 2009 RNR Census were:
- Agricultural land holdings and productions
- Livestock holdings and productions
- Availability of serviceable machineries
- Means of land cultivation
- Accessibility to basic services and motor road
- Issues and farming constraints
- Sources of income
- Marketing of farm products
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Rural Development | World Bank |
| Forests & Forestry | World Bank |
| Food (production, crisis) | World Bank |
| Land (policy, resource management) | World Bank |
Coverage
Geogs (sub-districts) Dzongkhags (Districts)
The census covered all households engaged in agricultural farming.
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Agriculture & Forests | Royal Government of Bhutan |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Danish International Development Agency | Funding |
| Rotal Government of Bhutan | Co-Funding |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| National Statistics Bureau | Royal Government of Bhutan | Technical guidance |
| All RNR Extension Personnel | Ministry of Agriculture & Forests | Data collection |
Sampling
The RNR Census 2009 aimed for complete enumeration of all households in the country engaged in RNR activities and production. However, of the 61,578 households listed as having engaged in the RNR activities only 57,610 (93.23 percent) households could be captured and 4,166 (6.77 percent) households turned out to be absentees. The absentees were those households whom the enumerators either failed to established contact with or found nobody representing them for enumeration even after three visits. The reasons for the absentees were to do with people on migration, involved in distant located off-farm activities, and away on pilgrimage and business.
Weights were calculated to compensate for the missing 7 percent unit non-response.
Survey instrument
The 2009 RNR Census used a set of structured and closed ended questionnaires. The questionnaire covered the following parameters:
- BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Respondent's identity and distances of road points and amenities from the household
- SOURCES OF HOUSEHOLD CASH INCOME: Main sources of cash Income
- AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT: Serviceable machinery and equipment on the farm and means of land cultivation
- AGRICULTURE: Households' land holdings, crop productions, use of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals
- LIVESTOCK: Livestock population, livestock death population, livestock productions and marketing and feed and fodder
- FORESTRY: Non-wood forest products / by-products and firewood and issues related to forests
- CONSTRAINTS ON THE FARM: Ranking of constraints, livestock killed by wildlife and crops damaged by wildlife and domestic animals
- FOOD SECURITY: Household food-grain self-sufficiency, food-grain shortage coping mechanism and quantity of food-grain purchased
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2009-01-01 | 2009-02-28 |
| Start date | End date |
|---|---|
| 2008-01-01 | 2008-12-31 |
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| RNR Extension Officers posted at the geogs and dzongkhags | Ministry of Agriculture & Forests |
Each dzongkhag has 3 sector heads, based on the 3 RNR sectors: Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock, supervising within their respective jurisdiction with the help of assistant supervisors appointed from among the senior extension officers. Besides coordination and mobilization of enumerators, their role was also to review each completed questionnaire at the end of every day. In total there were 80 supervisors and 700 enumerators. The regional coordinators visited the field at least 4 times with 3 times to discuss on the progress of data collections and another one time to collect the completed questionnaires.
Enumerators visited the households and interviewed them. The datasets was generated from the rural agricultural farmers for the production year 2008. The farmers are either not literate enough or had no system of maintaining farm records. Therefore, there could be over and under reporting of about 5 percent as the farmers have reported based on their memories.
Data processing
The questionnaire itself was a closed-ended one, where enumerators just needed to tick or select the right answers from the list except for figures. At the end of every day, the completed questionnaires were reviewed for errors and the enumerators revisited the respondents if found any errors. Upon conformity of error free, the questionnaires were handed over to the regional coordinators by the field supervisors.
Some of the data editing could also be executed during the data entry. The database was designed in a same style and sequence as that of the questionnaire for easy operation and typographical errors were prevented by allowing imputing of codes, checking or ticking boxes, and selection from the dropdown menu. Validation checks were also assigned to reject and popup alert messages in case the wrong or unintentional entries were made. Further, constant backstopping and close supervision have been ensured by assigning a permanent technical expert for the whole data computation period.
Data Access
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head, Information Management Section, Policy & Planning Division | Ministry of Agriculture & Forests | www.moaf.gov.bt; www.rnrstat.bt/csbhutan | ppders@moaf.gov.bt |
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | The Ministry of Agriculture & Forests only shares data that are anonymized. Before being granted access to the dataset, all users have to formally agree: 1. To make no copies of any files or portions of files to which s/he is granted access except those authorized by the data depositor. 2. Not to use any technique in an attempt to learn the identity of any person, establishment, or sampling unit not identified on public use data files. 3. To hold in strictest confidence the identification of any establishment or individual that may be inadvertently revealed in any documents or discussion, or analysis. Such inadvertent identification revealed in her/his analysis will be immediately brought to the attention of the data depositor. |
The Ministry of Agriculture & Forests shares officially approved datasets only at all administrative units such as geog (sub-districts), dzongkhag (districts) and national levels.
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Example:
Ministry of Agriculture & Forests (MoAF), Bhutan. Bhutan Renewabel Natrural Resources Census 2009. Ref. BTN_2009_RNRC_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from http://www.nsb.gov.bt/ndas/index.php/catalog on [date].
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the Ministry of Agriculture & Forests bears no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
© Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan 2010
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Management Section, Policy and Planning Division | Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Royal Goverment of Bhutan | karpo@moaf.gov.bt | www.rnrstat.bt/csbhutan |
| Policy & Planning Division | Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Royal Goverment of Bhutan | ppders@moaf.gov.bt | www.rnrstat.bt/csbhutan |
Metadata production
DDI_BTN_2009_RNRC_v02_M
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Karpo Dukpa | Ministry of Agriculture & Forests | Documentation of the study |
| Accelerated Data Program | International Household Survey Network | Editing for IHSN Survey Catalog |
2011-08-22
Metadata version
Version 1.0 - Ministry of Agriculture and Forests - Original documentation of the study.
Version 2.0 - Edited version by ADP based on Version 1.0 of MoAF dowloaded from http://www.nsb.gov.bt/ndas/index.php/catalog on 31 January 2013.