Sampling methodology for estimation of private food grains stock at farm level aligned with input survey of agriculture census in India

Abstract

In India, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was implementing a project “Strengthening Agriculture Market Information System (AMIS) in India using Innovative Methods and Digital Technology” and supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India. This project identified the potential of improving the data coverage on ‘on-farm’ post-harvest management of food grains through Input Survey carried out in Agriculture Census. Therefore, a pilot study on private food grains stock estimation at farm level aligned with Input Survey of Agriculture Census in India funded by FAO-India was conducted by ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (ICAR‑IASRI). Under this study, a suitable sampling methodology aligned with existing Input Survey for estimation of private food grain stock at farm level has been developed. A suitable questionnaire aligned with existing Input Survey of Agriculture Census has been developed covering different food grains stock at farm level. Under this study, a pilot survey was conducted in two states namely Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. The four crops under AMIS study i.e. wheat, paddy, maize and soybean along with pulses were covered under this pilot survey. The data was collected for all the three seasons. The estimates of food grains stock, pre-harvest opening stock, production obtained, quantity sold, quantity stored, quantity disposed and percentage stock at farm level were obtained along with its percentage Coefficient of Variation (% CV) and were found to be reasonably good for overall size classes. Therefore, it is expected that for overall holding size classes, the proposed methodology will provide farm level reliable estimates of food grains stock at district level. The study has established the feasibility of inclusion of developed questionnaire in the future Input Survey of Agriculture Census in India in order to estimate the food grains stock at farm level which will bridge the gap on private food grains stock in on-farm and off-farm domains of the supply chain.