AQUASTAT -  نظام المعلومات العالمي لمنظمة الفاو بشأن المياه والزراعة

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    Censuses

    This page presents a proposal for the provision of data for AQUASTAT from the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA), along with publications on the integration of gender considerations in censuses and other WCA-related publications starting from the year 1990. This page aims to promote the collection, analysis and dissemination of gender-disaggregated WCA indicators by giving concrete examples on how to proceed and request tailored data.

    Making gender visible in water statistics

    The lives of rural populations in many countries depend on the availability of natural resources. However, under certain circumstances these resources can be overexploited, with the risk of degrading them, including the quantity and the quality of water resources.

    The depletion of natural resources is commonly impacting the most vulnerable members of rural communities. In this context, gender inequalities in natural resource management and participation in policy- and decision-making are needed to be comprehended to be able to overcome them.

    Most rural women living in developing countries are generally responsible for the daily management and use of natural resources, in particular water. Hence, their degradation tends to have the most impact on women in relation to their workload and their quality of life (FAO, 1999; see section below "sources of information").

    Recurrently, water policies and programmes are formulated without examining the social contexts relative to gender roles in agricultural water management (FAO, 1999). Understanding and acknowledging women's role and the resource's conservation is essential for water programmes and policies to be successful.

    The production, analysis and use of accurate sex-disaggregated data and indicators are therefore needed for the rigorous planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of sound, effective and sustainable agricultural development projects, programmes and policies. Frank gender mainstreaming is needed in the above-mentioned actions and in combatting the "persisting invisibility of rural women".

    Mining existing data sources

    Agricultural censuses certainly become indispensable sources for the collection of national-level data and indicators, because substantial amounts of sex-disaggregated data can be acquired through the tabulations of the available data in agricultural censuses (FAO, 1999; FAO, 2005a).

    In fact, the "World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020" states that: "A census is not complete until the information collected is made available to potential users in a form suited to their needs" (FAO, 2015: 151).

    The demand for the production and the inclusion of gender sensitive data and indicators in agricultural censuses must come from the users of these materials. These users are, for instance, organizations involved in agricultural development, policy-makers, project managers, development agencies, research institutes and many more (FAO, 2005b).

    The FAO Policy on Gender Equality states as the first Minimum Standard that "All major FAO statistical databases incorporate sex-disaggregated data where relevant and available. In the short-term, this will involve mining data from existing sources, particularly household surveys, for sex-disaggregated statistics; in the longer term, efforts will be made to collect and disseminate additional sex-disaggregated data". AQUASTAT, as one of the main FAO statistical databases, therefore wishes to use former agricultural censuses to collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data relative to irrigation.

    AQUASTAT has been involved in the preparation of the "World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2010" (WCA 2010), specifically on Theme 2 of Chapter 11 (FAO, 2005b), and in the preparation of the "World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020" (WCA 2020), specifically on Theme 3 of Chapter 8 and also Chapter 9 (FAO, 2015), in order to make sure definitions and concepts relative to irrigation are conform to the ones used in AQUASTAT.

    Furthermore, AQUASTAT encourages the collection, analysis and dissemination of sex- disaggregated data, specifically related to irrigation, through the so-called data "items" that already exist in "WCA 2010" and "WCA 2020". Data items presented in these census documents are significant sources of sex-disaggregated data by means of tabulations, and cross-tabulations.

    Data items selected from WCA 2020

    Statistical tables can present different forms of summarized data by means of cross-tabulations, which are tables showing statistical data classified by two different items simultaneously. The data presented can be in different forms, such as: total for items (e.g. total area of sugarcane harvested), total number of units (e.g. number of holdings with pigs), averages for items (e.g. average area of the holding), and percentages (e.g. percentage of holdings using organic fertilizers) (FAO, 2015: 142).

    Perhaps, one may wish to know the percentage of holdings using organic fertilizers for holders of different ages. Here, "age of holder", if grouped in different age classes, is called classification variable, meaning characteristic used for the classification of data (FAO, 2015: 142). Also for example "area of holding" can be a classification variable, if grouped in different area classes. Most censuses have main classification variables that are used in many tables. Typically, classification variables need to be formed into applicable classes for presentation in the tables, so-called tabulation classes. For instance, in the above example, age of holder needs to be grouped in multiple age classes.

    A number of items in the WCA are so-called essential items. These are items that are imperative for national purposes and international comparability, which all countries are recommended to collect, regardless of their approach to the census (FAO, 2015: 52).

    The essential data items presented in Table 1 (see below) are the ones selected by AQUASTAT for sex-disaggregated analysis, along with the tabulation class and the reference group. The reference group refers to the group of holdings to be tabulated for the item. For example the item "area irrigated" is only meaningful for classification variable land holding (FAO, 2015: 142). Usually, more complex cross-tabulations are made, presenting census data classified by two different items at once.

    All of the needed definitions and methodologies to collect these essential data items are indicated in the "WCA 2020" document (FAO, 2015).

    TABLE 1 - Data items from the WCA 2020, including essential items and classification variables
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    Cross-tabulating essential data items from the WCA 2020

    A great number of possible cross-tabulations and an ever greater number of three-way tabulations exist (e.g. number of holdings classified by age of holder, area of holding and region). The "WCA 2020" document states clearly that cross-tabulations and three-way tabulations are effectively suitable for in-depth analyses and users must have access to a public database in order to produce the set of tables necessary for their analysis (FAO, 2015: 142). AQUASTAT proposes the cross-tabulation of specific data items below.

    TABLE 2 - Area of land actually irrigated by class of holding (0302), classified by the sex and age of holder (0104 and 0105), in hectares

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    This basic cross-tabulation would provide significant amount of data and information, and as the data items are essential ones, in theory, each country would be able to provide the data for this cross-tabulation without difficulty.

    Data items selected from the WCA 2020

    AQUASTAT promotes the collection of essential data items from the WCA 2020, along with other suggested data items that could also be useful for the availability of gender disaggregated data regarding irrigation. These are listed down below:

    Chapter 8: Description of themes and items for the census of agriculture

    Theme 01 - Identification and general characteristic

    0101 Identification and location of agricultural holding

    0104 Sex of agricultural holder

    0105 Age of agricultural holder

    0112 Sex of hired manager of the agricultural holding

    0113 Age of hired manager of the agricultural holding

    Theme 03 - Irrigation

    0301 Use of irrigation on the holding: fully and partially controlled irrigation

    0302 Area of land actually irrigated: fully controlled and partially controlled irrigation

    0304 Area of land actually irrigated according to method of irrigation: fully controlled irrigation (for the holding)

    Theme 08 - Demographic and social characteristics

    0802 Sex (for each household member)

    0803 Age (for each household member)

    0804 Relationship to household head or other reference person (for each household member)

    0805 Marital status (for each household member)

    0806 Educational attainment (for each household member)

    0807 Agricultural training/ education of holder

    Theme 09 - Work on the holding

    0901 Whether working on the holding is the main activity (for each household member of working age, identifying the sex)

    0902 Working time on the holding (for each household member of working age, identifying the sex)

    0903 Number and working time of employees on the holding by sex (for the holding)

    Theme 10 - Intra-household distribution of managerial decisions and ownership on the holding

    1001 Sex of household members making managerial decisions (in this question please indicate precisely questions related to irrigation)

    Data items from WCA 2010 and WCA 2000

    Using WCA 2010 to gather existing data

    While of course the first results of the WCA 2020, being implemented between 2016 and 2025, will become available at the earliest in a couple of years' time, AQUASTAT, together with the FAO Statistics Division, will request the assistance from countries to have the data of a number of essential and other data items from the WCA 2010, in order to be able to undertake an exercise similar to the one described above, based on the items available in WCA 2010 which are slightly different from the ones available in WCA 2020. This will be conform to the FAO Policy on Gender Equality which states as the first Minimum Standard that sex-disaggregated data must firstly be taken from "existing data sources".

    Essential data items from WCA 2010 are slightly different from the ones in WCA 2020 shown in Table 1. For example, as far as irrigation is concerned, the area is not an essential item in WCA 2010, only the number of holdings. However, there may be countries, especially those for which irrigation is important, that also may have collected data on area as an essential item.

    The essential items from WCA 2010 presented below are the ones for which AQUASTAT promotes the analysis and dissemination. All of the needed definitions and methodologies to collect these essential data items are indicated in the "WCA 2010" document (FAO, 2005b).

    TABLE 3 - Data items in WCA 2010, selected for gender-sensitive indicators relative to irrigation

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    The item "Area irrigated" is defined as follows in WCA 2010: "The item 0010 refers to whether irrigation took place on the holding during a twelve-month reference period, usually the census reference period. The item relates to the actual use of irrigation, not to whether the holding is equipped for irrigation. The infrastructure for irrigation may exist on a holding – that is, irrigation facilities such as canals and sprinkler systems are available – but these facilities may not actually be used by the holding during the reference year because of water shortages, lack of fuel, or inability to pay water fees. Irrigation refers to whether water was provided, regardless of whether the quantity of water was sufficient (FAO. 2005b: 84)". In the above tabulation classes, the WCA 2010 document refers to irrigated area size classes similar to the ones used for holding area classification.

    The WCA 2010 document clearly recommends the cross-tabulation of the following data items, in number of holdings (Table 4). However, if the data is available, the area (irrigated) could also be included in the values of the cross-tabulation (FAO. 2005b: 128).

    TABLE 4 - Number of holdings irrigated in size classes for area irrigated (0010) classified by the sex and age of holder (0003 and 0004)

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    Using WCA 2000 to gather existing data

    The WCA 2000 also included data items for irrigation, sex and age of the holder and area of holding, which are considered essential items, similar to the census of 2010.

    The definition of the data item "Irrigation" is defined and classified as the following: "Holdings that do not irrigate any land" and "Holdings that irrigate some land: irrigated at some time during the year" (FAO. 1995). As for the size classes for irrigated and total areas, as well as age intervals are the same as the ones in the WCA 2010 presented above.

    Therefore, if available also WCA 2010 could also be a source of sex and age disaggregated data relative to irrigation.

    Adding gender-disaggregated variables in the Main Database

    Although the indicators promoted above will not allow a full understanding of gender dynamics in agricultural water management, it will be a start in understanding these dynamics.

    Gathering data from different years and different countries through agricultural censuses will allow an elaborate and comparative analysis of gender differences relative to irrigation.

    Which is why AQUASTAT has requested customized data for European countries from Eurostat, in order to start analyzing data and adding them to its core database, as data from these countries are more easily accessible. This initiative aims to kick-start the enrichment of the country statistics with gender-disaggregated variables and intends to add as much data as possible over time.

    The results of this initiative can be found on the next page called National data.

    Based on the Case study, on the information available from world agricultural censuses described on this page, as well as on the evaluation of national-level data obtained from Eurostat, the following two new variables have been added to the Main Database under the category "Irrigation and drainage development":

    • Percentage of area equipped for irrigation managed by women
    • Percentage of agricultural holdings with irrigation managed by women

    Main sources of information on WCA

    Abstract: This publication is intended to provide guidance on agricultural censuses carried out by countries in the period between 2016 and 2025. The WCA 2020 will ensure that data collected are comparable at the international level while also addressing the main emerging information needs of the 21st century. This document promotes strongly the collection of sex and age disaggregated data, their analysis and dissemination

    Abstract: For the first time the WCA 2000 Programme explicitly introduced the issue of the role of women in agriculture. It admitted that although it was widely recognized that women’s participation in agriculture was of great importance, their contribution to agricultural development was in most cases inaccurately reported and often under-estimated. The WCA 2000 Programme, therefore, placed emphasis on the need to present the census results disaggregated by sex, and to take this requirement into account throughout the process of census planning, questionnaire design, data collection, processing and dissemination. It also recommended that even the smallest agricultural holdings should be included in the coverage of the census to ensure that the role of women is properly reflected.

    Abstract: This document presents the analysis and comparison of census results. The data presented is disaggregated by sex relative to agricultural holding management. An international comparison is made on the sex of agricultural holding managers is various 56 countries from Africa, Asia and Europe.

    Abstract: This publication provides main results on structure of agriculture at country level in a closely comparable form. These results have been extracted from country reports and standardized, as necessary. This document addresses the gender component in agricultural censuses.

    • Agricultural Censuses and Gender: Lessons Learned in Africa. Report - 2005a

    Abstract: This document highlights lessons learned in Africa with regard to the integration of gender concerns into agricultural censuses and provides recommendations on how to further improve the integration of these concerns into agricultural data collection systems. The production and use of gender-disaggregated agricultural data has increased significantly in the past two decades. Nonetheless, challenges still remain as governments, development partners and international organizations continue to identify ways to harmonize the use of definitions and concepts, address complex gender issues, strengthen the capacities of data users and producers to address gender issues, improve user-producer collaborations, and secure funds for the production, analysis and presentation of sub-national data.

    Abstract: This publication is intended to assist countries in the conduct of their national census of agriculture. It provides guidance on the integrated system approach to agricultural censuses and surveys and recommends, for the first time, a modular approach to the census of agriculture with the core census module and the supplementary modules. Again, gender-sensitive data collection, analysis and dissemination is promoted by this census document.

    • Agricultural censuses and gender considerations: Concepts and methodology. Guidelines - 1999

    Abstract: This paper aims to provide methodological guidelines to narrow the statistical gap as much as possible, avoiding the omission of women's contributions. It also proposes an innovative statistical process to highlight the contribution of small farms and small farm households. Annex 2 of the report contains the case study "Gender specific statistics and agricultural censuses in Tunisia and Benin" and Annex 3 the case study "National survey of rural households and formulation of gender-sensitive policies in Colombia".

    Abstract: This publication provides, in an internationally comparable form, a summary of data describing the main characteristics of agricultural structures, such as number and area of holdings, land tenure, agricultural holders and land use for 80 countries.

    Abstract: The Programme for the World Census of Agriculture 2000 is intended to assist countries by providing definitions, concepts, standards and guidelines for censuses in the decade 1996-2005 in order to generate a data base of internationally comparable figures.

     

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