5.4 Timing and Extent of Survey

The time frame set for the household surveys conducted in each country was between October 2002 and January 2003. Questionnaires for each livestock producer (dairy, swine, broiler, and layer) were pre-tested and administered to the household head or decision-maker of the farm. A sample of the questionnaire is found in Annex II (Mehta et.al., 2003). Information collected included data on household characteristics, costs of production of livestock commodities (both variable and fixed costs), sales of livestock commodities, farm management activities, and environmental management practices.

The survey in Thailand started in November 2002 and ended in January 2003. Farm locations were obtained from the Department of Livestock Development and other local authorities, from the dairy and layer producer cooperatives, producer associations, university professors who served as consultants to farmers, and agri-business companies (CP, Betagro, Panus Pokaphand, and Bangkok Feed Mill).

The India dairy team collected their data from December 2002 to March 2003 using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The information collected in the survey included data on household demographic characteristics, land ownership, cropping patterns, agricultural production, livestock ownership, asset ownership, milk production and marketing, labor employment in dairying, feed and fodder use, animal health and breeding services, credit, and environment issues. The agricultural data cover the 2001-2002 rabi^[23] and kharif^[24] seasons. Return visits to the respondents validated incomplete questionnaires or information, wherever possible. Relevant secondary information was also collected from published and unpublished sources, based on discussions with key stakeholders in the study area, to supplement the primary data collected from the sample households. Local administration offices, State Milk Marketing Federations, and dairy plants were visited to obtain supplementary information to sample surveys.

The field survey for India poultry was carried out from October 2002 to December 2002. The data originating from the survey was checked and cross-examined for consistency, and wherever gaps or inconsistencies were noticed, return visits to concerned farm households were made in January 2003 to fill these gaps.

The survey in the Philippines started in November 2002 and ended in January 2003. For production patterns in defined cycles, the last or most recent production cycle was considered. For production patterns with no defined cycles (e.g., overlapping batches of farrow-to-finish operations), input-output performance in the month of October 2002 was examined.

The Brazil team conducted their survey for broilers, hogs, dairy, and layers from October 2002 until January 2003. The last production cycle was observed for defined production patterns, and for cases with no defined production cycles, the input-output performance in the month of October was examined (as in the Philippines).