This is the first of three preparatory tests for the Census of Agriculture and it is taking place in the states of Maranhão, Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro.

In the first days of December, up until the 12th, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) is conducting field tests in these four Brazilian states for the 12th Census of Agriculture, Forestry, and Aquaculture.

The initiative aims to encompass different biomes and diverse agricultural activities, allowing for a comprehensive evaluation of the questionnaire, of the functionalities of the data collection management system, and of the innovations proposed for the census operation.

Enumerators, technical assistants, IBGE observers, coordinators, and other professionals are participating in the teams visiting the enumeration areas to conduct the tests with various types of communities and rural producers in their diverse arrangements and modalities of cultivation and production.

The pre-test is the first of three preparatory tests preceding the 12th Census of Agriculture, namely: Pilot Test I, Pilot Test II, and Experimental Census.

President of the IBGE observes the operation in Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro

The president of the IBGE, Marcio Pochmann, who watched the test in Rio de Janeiro, on Tuesday, December 09, talked with dozens of IBGE servants engaged in the operation and had a positivie imopression of the pre-test process, after going to the field in one of the collection activities, carried out in the district of Mury, in the rural zone of the state, in the municipality of Nova Friburgo. He demonstrated optimism as to the schedule of the 12th Census of Agriculture: “It has been a very interesting experience, positive, which shows how much the IBGE team is involved in this work which will provide an x-ray of the agrarian system in Brazil”.

Still in Rio de Janeiro, the General-Coordinator of Census Operations, Fernando Damasco, said that the test has been crucial to observe the effectiveness of the questionnaire, of data collection applications, as well as to verify the methodologies for walking the land and the approach to producers. “Our enumerators and observers have already identified several areas for improvement, which are now being consolidated for evaluation by the responsible areas. With the test results, we will refine various parameters of the survey planning and budget, ensuring an efficient and high-quality operation,” he explained.

Vinicios Abreu, head of the IBGE agency in Nova Friburgo and a veteran of the enumeration areas being used for testing, confirmed that the operation is meeting expectations. “Even the productivity and the number of questionnaires applied per day are going as expected. There are some adjustment points that we are dealing with in relation to the questionnaire and the equipment, but that's precisely the idea, that in the pre-test we test everything so that when we get to the data collection, we already have everything aligned,” he analyzed.

Geraizeiros of Northern Minas Gerais

Amidst the trees with twisted branches and thick bark of the Minas Gerais Cerrado, traditional communities in Northern Minas Gerais are inspired by the adaptability and resilience of the native vegetation to continue preserving the biodiversity of the biome and their own ways of life. One of these traditional peoples, visited by the pre-test of the 12th Census of Agriculture in the rural area of ​​Grão Mogol, are the Geraizeiros.

In the very definition of a person belonging to this traditional people, being a geraizeiro means “having the freedom to harvest things – pequi, araçá, cagaita, rufão,” exemplifies Valderita da Silva Ferreira, 74 years old, a resident of the Boa Vista locality. This is a land reform settlement where families carry out collective and individual wild-crop harvesting and agroecological activities.

In addition to collecting fruits, mainly pequi, the couple raises animals such as cattle, pigs, and chickens, plants a variety of crops (corn, different species of beans, cassava, sugarcane, vandu, oranges, bananas, among others), and grows a garden where they cultivate, among other things, medicinal plants.

The couple from the Gerais region recognize the importance of the IBGE's visit. For the first time, the Census of Agriculture will administer a specific questionnaire for traditional peoples and communities, which is being tested in this first pilot test. “The work that the IBGE is doing is to bring out a culture that seems somewhat invisible. I think that when someone carries out a survey and publicizes it, it helps us to keep on living in this environment,” says Cristovino. “Your visit is very good. It means you want to know about us, right? And it's also good for people to know our reality,” adds Mrs. Vá.

In Maranhão, in Bacabal, pilot test highlights the wild-crop harvesting of babassu coconut

The pilot test taking place in the city of Bacabal reveals the large production of babassu in the region.

In the village of Barreira in Bacabal, we can find 24-year-old Geovana, who works with babassu nuts. The young woman highlights what it's like to live off this crop: “It's very exhausting. I work from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm, Monday to Friday, with my mother. Our production is for sale. We also have other sources of income besides the babassu coconut. For example, I receive Bolsa Família (a government welfare program) and my mother is retired,” reveals Geovana, who completed the 9th grade of elementary school. According to the young woman, production lasts all year round.

Babassu serves various purposes: the kernel is used in the production of oil, olive oil, and soap; the husk can turn into charcoal, handicrafts, or roofing material.

A glance of the traditional peoples and communities of the São Francisco Valley, in Bahia

In Bahia, the pilot test is being carried out in the municipalities of Juazeiro and Sobradinho, in the São Francisco River Valley region, in the north of the state. The cities were chosen because of the variety of existing productions, such as irrigated fruit farming, which is a national highlight. The presence of traditional peoples and communities (PCTs) is also a hallmark of the area, which is receiving due attention in the census operation.

In the municipality of Sobradinho, data collection is only taking place in areas with the presence of traditional peoples and communities, such as the Camixá village, home to the Truká indigenous People. There, the IBGE team, composed of enumerator Vinícius Farias, and observers Marta Antunes, coordinator of the Institute's Working Group on Traditional Peoples and Communities, and Camila Carneiro, representative of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, was received by cacique Rita Barbalho, a local leader.

In the village, which has 29 hectares of collective land and where various temporary crops are grown, the IBGE team administered two questionnaires and was able to discover the reality of a community that raises small animals, practices fish farming, and plants for its own consumption, selling the surplus. “We need this survey so the government knows where to allocate resources, and so that things happen properly here,” explained Elias da Silva, who received the Institute at his home.

Experiences, adjustments and challenges harvesting Brazil's biggest data crop

The tests for the 1st Proof of the 12th Census of Agriculture, Forestry, and Aquaculture are fundamental for verifying in the field all the elements and aspects involved in an operation as big as the national census and so important to Brazil.

The size of the questionnaire, the phrasing of the questions, the response times, among other factors, are rigorously observed during the tests so that they can be properly corrected and adjusted.

Equipment, such as the Mobile Data Collection Device (DMC), used by the enumerators, is also tested for necessary adjustments.

Scheduling methods for interviews, routes traveled, respondent receptiveness, among many other factors, must also be actively experienced so that the entire structure of the operation can be adjusted harmoniously and precisely.

All these challenges and other points raised by the observers will be consolidated into a final report on the test. On December 17th and 18th, the IBGE will hold an evaluation meeting at the National School of Statistical Sciences (ENCE) to discuss the difficulties and lessons learned from this first test for the next Census of Agriculture.