Open data kit for diagnostic crop production survey at landscape level in India

Abstract

Technologies advancements are bringing great changes in the area of data collection, storage and analysis. Digital data collection (DDC) is a process of collecting data electronically using smart phones, tablets and net-books. This version has significantly improved data quality and reduced resource requirement for field surveys in past few years. Several DDC tools (Kobo, Collect, SurveyCTO, Magpi, Cogo, Insyt, GoSurvey, etc.) have been recently developed and are available for use. Each of them is having its own benefits and limitations in the context of utility and deployment by users. Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) in collaboration with Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) in India used Open Data Kit (ODK) for diagnostic survey of crop production practices. In 2018, the survey was implemented in 50 districts across five eastern states (Bihar,Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh) through Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of each district. The survey intended to capture detail information from rice-wheat cropping system so the focus was 1.2 12 New Frontiers in Agricultural Extension more on Bihar and east part of Uttar Pradesh along eastern IndoGangetic plain. From each district, 210 randomly selected farmers were interviewed in depth for their current crop production practices; approximately 8,000 data points were gathered. The objectives of this electronically enabled survey were to fill existing data gaps, generate recent data-based evidences, derive better insights and facilitate informed decisions by policy makers.