The data for this project was collected in 2013, and I was a part of the AFSP Impact Study Team. Our job was to follow up on a baseline study for the AFSP which had been conducted in 2010. This Impact Study was conducted in order to assess what effects the AFSP had on smallholder agriculturalists taking part in the program. The impact study area consisted of six districts, two in the North (Karonga and Mzimba), two in Central Malawi (Salima and Ntcheu), and two in the Southern Regions of Malawi (Mulanji and Chikhwawa). There were also a further two districts that contained farmers that were part of a control group, these districts were both in the south (Blantyre, and Mwanza).
Methods of data collection followed the baseline survey as much as possible. Data was collected via Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in the same format as the baseline study (2010). These households then took part in a household survey. Data from the household survey was collected using face-to-face interviews conducted by trained enumerators. There were two teams of enumerators consisting of one supervisor and three enumerators per team. Supervision of the data collection was conducted by myself and other available ICRAF staff. Data collection period was July 2013 to August 2013.
