Post Harvest Losses 2018 Pilot Survey Namibia

During 2018, the National Statistical Agency (NSA) of Namibia received technical assistance from the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics hosted by FAO on the measurement of Post-Harvest Losses (PHL). In this regard, a pilot survey was conducted by NSA in the Kavango West region to compare estimations using subjective and objective methods. The main crops analyzed are millet and maize. Subjective measurement methods included farmer recall, while the objective methods chosen were implemented through crop cutting, and samples of harvested crop analyzed in a lab. Unfortunately, the project ended before the samples were received from the lab, so these data are not available.

The pilot survey was conducted in Kavango West region only and the Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) were derived from the 2013/14 Agricultural Census frame. Staff from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), (agricultural technicians as enumerators and agricultural technician as team supervisors) carried out field activities. In total, a sample of 350 farms were enumerated. The data collection took place from May 2018 to August 2018 (30 working days) and included both the subjective and objective measure of the PHL.