National Sample Census of Agriculture 2019-2020

In order to facilitate various activities of the Poverty Monitoring Master Plan, the Government has planned a series of censuses and surveys to assist in policy and planning and to track changes in the wellbeing of the population of Tanzania. Therefore, the 2019/20 National Sample Census of Agriculture results aim at providing useful information that will contribute in filling the data gaps, thus, support in planning and policy formulation geared to promote agricultural sector which the majority of the rural population depends on livelihood and it is their main source of income. In addition, the collected information provides benchmark data for monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of rural development initiatives.

The 2019/20 National Sample Census of Agriculture was designed to meet the data needs of a wide range of users down to district level including policy makers at local, regional and national levels, rural development agencies, funding institutions, researchers, NGOs, farmer’s organizations. The dataset is both extensive in its sample and detailed in its scope to meet the user demand.
The key objectives of the Census were three-fold:
i). To identify structural changes if any, in the size of farm household holdings, crop and livestock production, farm inputs and farm implement use. It also seeks to determine if there are any improvement in rural infrastructures and the level of agriculture household living conditions;
ii). Provision of benchmark data on productivity, production and agricultural practices in relation to policies and interventions promoted by the Agricultural Sector Lead Ministries (ASLMs) and other stakeholders; and;
iii). Establishment of baseline data for the measurement of the impact of high-level objectives of the Agriculture Sector Development Programme Phase II (ASDP II).

The 2019/20 National Sample Census of Agriculture was conducted for both large scale farms and smallholder farmers. This report covers information of smallholder farmers in details with some
summary data from large scale farms in order to provide complete national estimates for some variables such astotal livestock population, crop production etc. The data was collected from a sample of 33,808 smallholder farmers, of which 32,008 were from Mainland Tanzania and 1,800 from Tanzania Zanzibar. Data was also collected from 1,093 large scale farms (1,018 were from Mainland Tanzania and 75 in Tanzania Zanzibar) on a complete enumeration basis.

The census covered agriculture in detail as well as many other aspects of rural development and was
conducted using three different questionnaires
i). Smallholder farmers questionnaire
ii). Large scale farms questionnaire
iii).Community level questionnaire
The smallholder farmers questionnaire was the main census instrument and main topics covered were
a) Household information
b) Land access/ownership/tenure
c) Land use
d) Conservational farming
e) Access and use of resources
f) Annual and permanent crops production
g) Main use of crop residuals
h) Agroprocessing
i) Crop storage
j) On farm investments
k) Access and use of credit for agricultural purposes
l) Crop extension services
m) Livestock production and products
n) Outlet for sales of livestock
o) Livestock structures/accessories
p) Livestock pest & parasite control
q) Livestock extension
r) Livestock extension service providers
s) Government regulatory challenges
t) Fish farming
u) Bee keeping
v) Labour use
w) Subsistence vs non-subsistence
x) Access to infrastructure and other services
y) Agricultural constraints
z) Market information
aa) Poverty indicators at household level

The large-scale farm questionnaire was administered to large farms which were either privately or corporately managed. Some data from the large scale farms’ questionnaire are incorporated in this report, however an in-depth analysis of large scale farms is presented in a separate report. The community level questionnaire was designed to collect village level data such as access and use of common resources, community tree plantations and seasonal farm gate prices.