You can survey clearly now

As agricultural services strive to deliver more with less, it is increasingly important to be able to measure needs and impact. Agriculturists want information on farmers' opinions, status, marketing, volumes of crops grown and sold, performance of animals, censuses of fruit trees, pests and disease populations, etc. Surveys are essential tools for getting at this information, and of all ACP regions, the Caribbean is probably the most 'survey-minded' and certainly the most surveyed. With a long tradition of social science research combined with certain strengths in statistics, many Caribbean States have much experience relevant to agricultural surveys. This experience is now available to all ACP States through 'How to plan and conduct a successful survey', a new technical bulletin of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). Its eight pages ? produced with CTA support ? are packed with practical guidelines on defining survey goals, designing and testing the survey instrument (such as a questionnaire), selecting a representative sample, gathering and processing data, and writing an accurate and useful report. The author, Bruce Lauckner, never ceases to stress the human side: building a skilled team, solving problems, allocating resources. Contact: CARDI University Campus, St Augustine Trinidad and Tobago West Indies.How to plan and conduct a successful survey' Bruce Lauckner Contact: CARDI University Campus, St Augustine Trinidad and Tobago West Indies