Digitising Agricultural Surveys in Trinidad & Tobago

For decades, Trinidad and Tobago’s Central Statistical Office (CSO) relied on a bimonthly paper-based survey to track food crop production, a method that made it difficult to ensure consistency or adapt to evolving agricultural needs.

To modernise this system, the FAO supported the CSO in launching the National Agricultural Statistics Survey (NASST), a quarterly panel survey designed for digital data collection using Survey Solutions. rowsquared supported this transition by digitising the NASST questionnaire, implementing Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), and guiding end-to-end survey planning.

We reviewed the draft NASST, ironing out inconsistencies and streamlining logic. We led the Survey Solutions scripting process and integrated high-resolution satellite imagery into the workflow to accurately locate and track agricultural holdings. Our team provided remote and on-site support and pre-tested the digital tool in real-world conditions.

The CSO team needed clear documentation to bring together survey logistics, questionnaire logic, and data management, areas previously handled in isolation. We developed a Survey Implementation Protocol to guide the NASST’s quarterly rollout and a CAPI Implementation Manual detailing digital operations.

Through rowsquared’s support, the CSO transitioned from fragmented, paper-based practices to a streamlined, digital data collection model. By the end of the pilot, the CSO team was equipped to independently manage future rounds of the NASST—laying the foundation for a more responsive agricultural statistics system in the country.