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Cropping Intensity
Cropping intensity is defined as the number of crops a farmer grows in a given agricultural year on the same field (Raut et al., 2011), and is another means for intensification of production from the same plot of land. The indicator focuses on the agricultural year and assesses the number of crops grown. In regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa where there is minimal irrigation, improvement in the number of crops grown may be an intensification strategy for households.
How to operationalize the metric
Method of data collection and data needed to compute the method:
Data for this metric are collected via survey. Agricultural surveys, such as those used by the World Bank (NBS, 2014), divide the agricultural year into two seasons. Crop production is enumerated for both seasons. Therefore, data for this metric should be collected for both seasons. Data should be collected on whether the crop was grown in the season. In the LSMS-ISA Surveys, the household is asked which crops they grew in each season, area planted, and the amount that was harvested.
Unit of analysis:
For survey data, the cropping intensity may range from 0 to 2. If the household grows a given crop in both seasons, then the count is two crops; and if the household does not grow a crop during the agricultural year, then the value is 0.
Limitations regarding estimating and interpreting:
The cropping intensity can have a higher maximum value than a score of “2” where early maturing crop varieties are used and more than two crops can be grown or where technology like irrigation is used. At the field level, these surveys should be modified to ensure that changes in technology that increase cropping intensity can be captured.