It was argued in Chapter 6 that conventional methods of data collection are ill-adapted to capturing the nature, timing and extent of labour circulation, particularly seasonal migration within the rural areas. In most developing countries the only information available on such migration is localized and often purely descriptive, so that no reliable insights can be gained regarding the volume, timing, direction and duration of such flows or of their importance at the national level. To try to capture such information through a special purpose census would be extremely difficult, costly and time-consuming. An alternative, suggested here, is to use a ‘rapid appraisal’ approach quickly and inexpensively to sketch in the broad outlines of migration patterns across the country, and where they exist, across international boundaries. As with all RRA approaches, the process is necessarily iterative, and what will be reported here is merely the first step, serving to indicate key areas where subsequent more detailed research efforts should be concentrated.

The method suggested here is a variant of the ‘key informant’ approach, common in micro-level studies. In a macro study what is required is a large number of such respondents, observers from all over the country who are both readily accessible and possessed of particular qualifications. First, they must be from rural areas and be both interested in, and informed about, rural life, particularly agriculture. Second, they must have some familiarity with the nature, methods and purposes of scientific enquiry.