The Wye Group handbook : rural households' livelihood and well-bring - statistics on rural development and agriculture household income

Abstract

This handbook acknowledges the need for better data and indicators on the environment, rural economies and communities, and, very importantly, the farm household itself which in almost all countries is the most numerous type of farm unit. Present information is hampered by large variations in how results are calculated at national level, offering the possibility of misrepresentation and false conclusions. International standards in statistics for rural areas and agricultural household incomes are crucial if meaningful comparisons are to be made between countries. They are also important to the establishment of general patterns that hold true for a range of countries. The handbook helps fill this major information gap by setting out principles and pointing to good practice. The objective of this handbook is to consolidate work done by international organizations, highlight where differences occur and as far possible to fill gaps. A special focus is also put on the quality of rural statistics and indicators, including those relating to the income of agricultural households. A salient feature of rural areas and their associated problems is that they can differ very significantly not only between countries but also within the same country. It is therefore not advisable to prepare a handbook that is prescriptive but rather one that, through drawing on international and national experiences, can highlight good practices. At a practical level, a secondary objective is to make an inventory of national rural development statistics, with a particular focus on income measures. The overarching aim is to enable the benchmarking of ways of collecting data and constructing indicators so that they can be used to assist policy discussion and design.