The General Household Survey Panel, Farm Area Measurement Validation Study (GHSP- FAMVS), 2013 was conducted on a subsample of the GHS-Panel survey, it focused on the land area measurement component. The survey was motivated by observed differences between farmer estimates of plot area and GPS measurement in Nigeria and other countries with LSMS-ISA surveys.
The GHSP-FAMVS, set out to validate GPS measurement and farmer self-reported estimates against the compass and rope measurement, commonly accepted as the gold standard method.
The LSMS-ISA, an agriculture-focused project of the LSMS program, and the institutional collaborations on which it is built, provides an ideal platform to support methodological research. The broader LSMS-ISA research agenda is composed of seven primary components:
1. Land area measurement
2. Soil fertility
3. Water resources
4. Labor inputs
5. Skill measurement
6. Production of continuous and extended-harvest crops
7. Computer-assisted personal interviewing for agricultural data
Four states were purposefully selected based on safety and past performance in area measurement (Benue, Osun, Oyo, and Kogi). The total number of plots measured and included in the validation study were 495, coming from a total of 202 households. The GHSP-FAMVS was carried out in 2013 by the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with The World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) team. Fieldwork began in March 2013 and lasted for approximately 3 weeks.