Agriculture

The Agriculture and Environment Division has two Branches; vis-à-vis Agriculture Branch and Environment Branch

AGRICULTURE BRANCH

1. Crop Forecasting Survey (CFS)

Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. Zamstats annually conducts the CFS. The results of the Crop Forecasting Survey are disseminated to the general public in May at the beginning of the  Agriculture Marketing Season.  The following information is collected from the agricultural households:

• Production of major crops which include maize, beans, velvet beans, soya beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, paddy rice, sorghum, millet, wheat.
• Fertilizer and chemical use on crops
• Market access information
• Tillage methods used
• Conservation agriculture information
• Irrigation information
• Demographic information

1. Post Harvest Surveys (PHS)

The Post Harvest Survey is undertaken at the end of each Agriculture Season.  The results of the Survey complement the results obtained from the Crop Forecasting Survey (CFS).  The Post Harvest Survey results usually act as confirmatory to results obtained during the Crop Forecasting Survey.

Major topics covered in Post Harvest Survey include the following:

• Crop Production
• Tillage Methods
• Types of Livestock
• Poultry
• Land Tenure
• Cost of Production
• Irrigation Information
• Crop Sales and Consumption
• Storage of Crops
• Fertilizer and Chemicals used on the farms
• Prices Obtaining at Markets
• Market Access at the Community level
• Demographic Information
• Morbidity and Mortality information as they affect agriculture production at household level
• Horticulture Information
• Animal diseases and animal husbandry information

• Census of Agriculture

The last Agriculture Census undertaken by  was in between 1991 and 1992 with the assistance of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) experts.  It is the intention of ZAMSTATS to undertake another Agriculture Census next year in 2024.  Considering the magnitude of the exercise, the Census of Agriculture is usually done on sample basis.  this is due to high costs involved in covering Agricultural households on 100 percent basis. 

ENVIRONMENT BRANCH

The branch collects various types of data on the environment.  The following themes are supposed to be assessed with the collection of environment data.  These themes are as follows:

• Water Pollution
• Air Pollution
• Noise Pollution
• Sanitation
• Land Pollution
• Solid and Liquid Waste
• Energy Sources
• Forestry Cover
• Biodiversity
• Wildlife
• Aquaculture
• Fish Catch from 14 Water Bodies

The Environment Branch has concentrated on collecting information on Energy and Fish catch Surveys (from 14 water bodies.