Comparing Farmer's and Crop Card Estimation

The main objective of the study was to compare crop card and farmers' estimates in estimating cassava and sweet potatoes yield. The study used data from Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) based on Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) 2005/06 agricultural survey and crop card survey conducted early 2006. The farmers who had crop card and farmers' estimates were selected for the study. The student t- test was used to compare the yield estimates and Bartlett's test was used to compare the variations. Correlation was used to compare the linear relationship of the measurement error and the mean yield. Bland-Altman analysis was used to compare the yield estimates in detail. The study concluded that the crop card method can be used to replace the farmers' estimates or can be used concurrently. However caution has got to be exercised in the way the area of the farmers' plots is measured. There is need for increasing the number of crop card monitors and regularizing their visits thus monitoring whatever the farmer records on the card. The monitoring will help to reduce errors resulting from farmers who can not record properly.