Crop Cutting Questionnaire (Part B) R-CDTA 8369: Innovative Data Collection Methods for Agricultural and Rural Statistics Training on Crop Cutting October2015 Center for Agricultural Statistics (CAS) Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Lao PDR

Questionnaire: Part B As described in the Randomization presentation, four rice sub-plots should be sampled from each mesh. Section B is for one rice sub-plot only. Therefore, for each mesh, you should fill out four Section B forms. Crop cutting should only be done on rice plots that are ready for harvest.

Locating the Sample Mesh Use GPS applications installed in the iPad (Map Plus) Indicate the full identification of the sample mesh

Locating the Sample Mesh Questions B1, B2, and B3 are for the enumerator, not the farmer or farm operator. Question B1: Mesh/pixel ID of the rice farm on which crop cutting is occurring. This should match A4. Question B2: Plot ID. This should match A7. Question B3: Full ID number: the combination of the two p p07

Farmer Interview and Area and Production Estimation With the help of the village officials, identify the owner of the randomly selected plot. Explain the objectives of the exercise to the farmer. Ask the farmer the total area (B4) of the randomly selected plot, and an estimate of production (B5) from the same plot. Question B4: Farmer’s estimate of total area (be certain to use the correct unit of measure!) Question B5: Farmer’s estimate of production

Total Area of Crop Cutting Plot, using GPS Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale Question B6 is for the enumerator, not the farmer or farm operator Walk around the periphery of the plot, using the tracking function of the GPS device Save the “track” on iPad with the name of the full plot ID

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale Question B7: Use Random Number Table 1 to select the starting corner. Pick the first number that is less than or equal to the total number of corners on the field. Random Number Table 1: Crop-Cutting START CORNER SELECTION

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale Measure the adjacent sides of the randomly selected corner: Question B8a Length of the longer side Question B8b Length of the shorter side 70m 85m 70 85

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale Using Random Number Table 2, pick the first number that is less than the length of the longer side: Enter this value in Question B9a, and walk this distance along the longer side. 76m 76

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale Using Random Number Table 2, pick the next number that is less than the length of the shorter side: Enter this value in Question B9b, and walk this distance into the sub-plot, parallel to the shorter side m

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Sub- Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale The point at which you arrive is Point A Place the bottom left corner of the 2.5m x 2.5m crop cutting frame at Point A Using Map Plus, enter the coordinates of Point A into Question B11a and B11b A

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Note: not drawn to scale Using Map Plus, enter the GPS Accuracy into Question B10

Review: Random Selection of Crop Cutting Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B11a: Latitude Question B11b: Longitude N E

Rice: Varieties Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B12: Ask the farmer the variety of rice planted on the plot. If more than one variety, indicate the one that is predominantly planted.

Rice: Method of Planting Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B13: Method of planting used i.Direct seeding – seeds are directly planted into the soil surface; requires less labor; more prone to competition to weeds ii.Transplanting – seeds are grown in a nursery first and then transplanted; requires less seeds but much more labor; widely practiced primarily to control weeds iii.Ratooning – method of propagation that uses shoots (ratoons) of the mother crop as the planting material for the next planting season 2

Crop Cutting in the Sample Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B14: Was any portion of the sub-plot harvested before crop cutting? Yes (1)  go to the next question No (2)  go to Q16 Question B15: When did the farmer harvest the rice from the sub-plot? Indicate the week (W), month (MM) and year (YYYY): W/MM/YYYY

Crop Cutting in the Sample Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B16: What is the estimated percentage of area in the crop cutting sub-plot that has already been harvested? If 100%, redo the corner selection, and repeat the process using a different questionnaire form Question B17: Date of Crop Cutting (date the field teams implement crop cutting in the sub-plot). Indicate the date, month and year. DD/MM/YYYY

Crop Cutting in the Sample Sub-Plot Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B18: How many hills are found in the crop- cutting sub-plot in total? Physically counting the total number of hills is easier after harvesting the rice. 145

Harvesting of Samples Cut the crop inside the randomly selected sub- plot using a sickle

Threshing of Samples Threshing involves separating the grains from the straw either by impact, friction or combing action. In this exercise, we will thresh the samples manually by impact. Place the harvested sample in the mesh bag and beat the crop against a platform.

Weighing the Paddy: Fresh Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B19: The fresh weight of the paddy after threshing, in kg Use the weighing scale in its PADDY form. This is the fresh weight of the rice grain: it includes the husk, and other impurities. Before weighing, ensure that the scale is set to ZERO (tare any bowl/plate/ container used)

Weighing the Paddy: Fresh Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 NOTE: Weigh up to just under the maximum capacity of the digital weighing scales. In other words, if the maximum capacity is 3 kg, weigh amounts slightly less than 3 kg. If multiple weighing is done, record all weight measurements to get the total weight

Moisture Content Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B20: Measure the moisture content using a moisture meter Do this THREE TIMES, and take the average of the three moisture content readings In between readings, shake and stir the rice so that the samples you take are more RANDOM, and so your reading will be more accurate

Cleaning of Samples Sort the grains to remove the damaged and empty grains. Cleaning is the removal of unwanted materials from the grain such as straw, weeds, soil and other non-grain materials. Place the threshed sample in a winnowing basket and separate the impurities.

Weighing the Paddy: Clean Number all the corners of the plot beginning from the NW corner and clockwise N 1 Question B21: The weight of the paddy after cleaning to remove impurities (kg)

Drying of Samples Drying reduces air moisture content to a safe level for storage. Rice is usually harvested at 20-25% MC Drying should be done immediately after harvesting – ideally within 24 hours Grains must be dried to 12-14% moisture content for optimum milling and safe storage

Drying of Samples Question B22: Drying method

Drying of Samples: Parching Place the rice in a pot and set the pot to heat. Make sure the flame is large enough to remove the moisture but does not burn the rice. Create a circular movement while parching so that the drying occurs evenly. Take random samples of the rice from the pot as it is drying, cool it for a bit and put it in the moisture meter to recheck the moisture content. When the moisture of the rice is between 12-14%, remove the pot from the source of heat, cool it for a bit, and then measure the weight.

Drying of Samples Question B23: Moisture content of the dried paddy (should be between 12-14%) Question B24: Date of weighing of the dried paddy (DD/MM/YYYY) Question B25: Weight of the dried paddy (kg)

Additional questions: for Data Entry Personnel Questions B26 – B31: These questions are for the Data Entry Clerks and Data Entry Verifiers, who will transcribe the data from paper questionnaires to electronic form You are not responsible for these questions – do not fill in these fields!