The Agricultural Census is carried out by the Department of Agriculture with no input from the Bureau of Statistics. The last census was conducted in 1991. A review after 5 years has been postponed to 1998. The next census is scheduled for 2001.
A National Nutrition Survey is carried out every ten years by the Fiji National Food and Nutrition Committee. . The first National Food and Nutrition Survey was carried out in 1980 and the most recent in 1992. A national breast-feeding survey was conducted in the 1980s but the data were lost. The National Food and Nutrition Committee is keen to develop a simple nutrition surveillance program to supplement the decennial survey, and a feasibility study is required as a first step. Studies on the intrahousehold distribution of food are also required.
The last Population Census was in 1986, however the military coups of 1987 and 1988 invalidated these data. Efforts were made to improve the question on economic activity in subsistence, and women's participation rates have increased as a result. Gender-disaggregation is good, but urban-rural less so; ethnicity is the first variable for disaggregation.
A Household Economic Activity Survey was conducted in 1989-90. This was the first survey of its kind in Fiji. It covered urban areas, rural villages and rural settlements. Its main objectives were to: determine the types of economic activity of households; obtain data on the value of gross output and capital formation of the household sector; and improve data on the household sector contribution to national income. A secondary objective was to update demographic, education, social and economic details of individuals; this was done at the listing stage. This is the closest that Fiji has come to obtaining time use data. There are at present no plans to carry out a time use survey.
The 1990-91 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) is still being processed. Preliminary results show that it seriously underestimates income (since expenditure exceeds income) and does not capture women's subsistence activities since most women are classed as housewives. The next HIES is planned for 1999. It will collect information on income per person as well as household level income per commodity. The previous HIES was in 1977. A 1983 survey was not published due to data unreliability.
The 1992-93 Employment and Unemployment Survey is also still being processed. This survey covers both urban and rural areas and distinguishes between subsistence activities for cash and own consumption, as well as covering two reference periods of 7 days and one year. It also underestimates income. The previous 1982 Employment/Unemployment Survey includes some data by gender, including data on migrant heads of households and time to find employment.
Regular sources include quarterly employment statistics on the number and type of people employed in establishments by sector and an annual Employment Survey of establishments. Public sector employment data by gender are also available.
Data gaps identified by the Department for Women and Culture include women in small business, the informal sector, and women's contribution in farming communities.
The Agricultural Census is conducted every ten years. The last one was in 1993. It lists farm labour, however data on subsistence production is at the household level. The first Agricultural Census was held in 1983/4. It obtained little on the human aspects of agriculture; where economic activity data are available, women's activities are significantly under-represented because domestic work is classed as their main activity. Some time-use data are available, but these also under-report the work activities of women. The 2003 Census will include fisheries information if funding provided funding is available.
An annual Smallholder Agricultural Survey has been held since 1989, the latest being in 1997. This survey uses the 1989 population census as a frame and is hence household-based. It is rural and covers all Vanuatu's islands. Since 1991 or 1992, it has included the gender of labourers. This survey has a core of questions to which modules can be added. There have been no time use surveys. A Market Survey concentrated on transport and prices. A Smallholder Cattle Survey was conducted in 1985.
A National Nutrition Survey was conducted in 1996. The previous survey, undertaken in 1983, provided good quality data with detailed tabulations, including disaggregation by urban/rural however not by gender. A 1985 Dietary Survey also exists together with a 1985 Non-Communicable Diseases Survey.
A 1997 Household Income and Expenditure Survey is in the planning stages, although funding has yet to be secured. This survey is intended to cover urban and semi-urban areas and some rural villages near semi-urban centres. Data on individual wage-earners will be collected, and subsistence production for cash or subsistence will be at the household level. A Family Income and Expenditure Survey was carried out in urban areas only in 1985. Disaggregation was by ni-Vanuatu/expatriate head of household; there was no gender disaggregation.
A Women in Business Survey was conducted in 1994, and an Informal Sector Survey was also conducted in 1994. An urban Employment Survey was held in 1983 covering the private sector. This has ni-Vanuatu/European disaggregation and data on wages, salaries, hours, etc. by educational qualifications, age, ethnicity, type of establishment, etc..
The latest Population Census was in 1989. Special efforts were made to improve data on economic activity in this census; gender biases are low. The previous census was in 1979 when high female participation rates were also recorded. The next census is planned for 2000.
In general, disaggregation by gender is often missing in Vanuatu since disaggregation by ni-Vanuatu/expatriate is given priority.
The last Agricultural Census was in 1989, but the results were invalidated by two cyclones in 1990 and 1991. It contains little on human resources. The next Agricultural Census is planned for 1999. Both the Statistics Office and Department of Agriculture are involved in this activity. Surveys on agricultural production cover both commercial and subsistence production, but are not people-related. Surveys on extension are carried out by the Department of Agriculture.
A Market Study was recently carried out for a sample population of 51 traders at a market in Apia. It has not been analysed by sex. This survey asked questions about transport and commodities. Problems identified by the producers included: shortage of family labour; plant disease; transportation (between plot and house, and house and market, with most people relying on public transport); and social commitments and regulations made by village councils (such as bans on the use of chemicals). The availability of land was not identified as a problem, despite the fact that more marginal lands are now being used.
The last Population Census was in 1991 and the next is due to be held in 2001. Gender biases exist in data on economic activity. The 1991 census obtained information on women's informal sector employment.
A Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) was expected to take place in June 1997, with a sample of 2000 households. One of its purposes is to evaluate women's work. The survey was designed to obtain socio-demographic information about household members, as well as details of the income and source of income of each member. Expenditure information is at the household level. The last HIES was carried out in 1977.
