Calibration of instruments for collecting farm level data

THEY CAN COLLECT INFORMATION SUPPLIED THEM BY THE FARMER, OR THEY CAN MAKE DIRECT MEASUREMENTS OF THOSE DATA. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A STUDY DESIGNED TO ESTABLISH WHETHER CONSISTENT RELATIONSHIPS EXIST BETWEEN THE DATA COLLECTED BY THOSE TWO MEANS. THE CROPS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY WERE UPLAND RICE, FIELD CORN, GLUTINOUS CORN, SORGHUM, MUNG, COWPEA, PEANUT, SOYBEAN, AND SWEET POTATO. THIRTY-NINE FARMERS WERE STUDIED IN BATANGAS PROVINCE, THE PHILIPPINES, DURING THE 1974-1975 CROP SEASON. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOWED CONSISTENT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEASURED AND FARMER-REPORTED DATA. THE FARMERS OVERESTIMATED THEIR PARCEL SIZES BY ABOUT 8% IF THEY OWNED OR LEASED THEIR LAND, AND BY ABOUT 30% IF THEY RENTED THE LAND. THEY ALSO CONSISTENTLY OVER-ESTIMATED THEIR LABOR TIME AND UNDERESTIMATED THEIR CROP YIELDS. THE STUDY RESULTS CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP REALISTIC LABOR REQUIREMENTS AND LABOR COSTS FOR SMALL-SCALE AGRONOMIC TRIALS. THEY CAN ALSO BE USED FOR TRANSFORMING DATA OBTAINED FROM FARMERS" REPORTS INTO DATA MORE ACCURATE FOR ECONOMIC ANALYSES.