The questionnaire was developed in English, and administered in
the local language to ensure that farmers would understand all the
questions. It was pre-tested or validated with 10 farmers outside
the study sample and questions were refined according to feedback
from the farmers. The final questionnaire was administered by the
main author with the help of the staff from the provincial
government unit or from the local cooperative. It was emphasized
that answers would be highly confidential, and that correctness of
the answers was necessary for the proper analysis of the results.
Interviewers were allowed to enter the farm premises in most
cases. This allowed the validation of the gathered information. Staffs
of the local government unit and of the local cooperative were
knowledgeable of the farms' operation, and thus also assisted in the
validation.