To maintain consistency, accuracy, and global interoperability, the HEA Database adheres to international standards for metadata coding, where possible.
Below are the specific metadata types and the standards applied to each type of reference data:
Country
Standard: ISO 3166
Description: Countries are identified using the ISO 3166 standard, which provides codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. The database uses the ISO standard names for countries, and uses the iso3166a2 code as the short identifier.
The current list of countries is accurate, and changes to the list are rare. The FEWS NET Hub will keep the list up to date from the ISO-published master list.
Currency
Standard: ISO 4217
Description: Currencies are classified according to the ISO 4217 standard, which assigns three-letter codes to each currency.
The current list of currencies is accurate, and changes to the list are rare. The FEWS NET Hub will keep the list up to date from the ISO-published master list.
Livelihood Activity
Standard: Custom taxonomy developed specifically for the HEA Database, informed by local knowledge and existing classifications where possible.
Description: Livelihood Activity records mostly contain pointers to other metadata (season, product, unit of measure, etc.). Livelihood Activities typically use the classified product that is used for equivalent Market Price data in the FEWS NET Data Warehouse:
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Livestock Sale activities use the classified product for the animal, e.g. L02123: Goats. If the BSS includes a designation of local or export quality animals, more specific classified products will be used rather than an additional identifier. For example, Pig sales - local: no. sold uses the classified product L02140HA: Swine / pigs, local quality and Vente de moutons - locale: nb venduss uses the classified product L02122AP: Sheep, local quality.
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Meat Production activities use the classified products for the meat product, e.g. P21116: Meat of goat, fresh or chilled.
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Milk Production activities use the classified products for the raw milk, e.g. P02292: Raw milk of goats.
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Butter Production activities use the classified products for the specific butter, e.g. P22249HC: Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk of goats.
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Crop Production activities use the classified products for the non-seed crop, e.g. R01122: Maize (corn), other. Green consumption is also a Crop Production activity, using specific classified products for the green crop, e.g. R01290HA: Green corn (maize).
Livelihood Strategy Type
Standard: Custom taxonomy developed specifically for the HEA Database, informed by local knowledge and existing classifications where possible.
Description: Livelihood Strategies are one of a set of options used by households in a Livelihood Zone to obtain food and cash income and acquire the items needed to live. Livelihood Strategy records mostly contain pointers to other metadata (Season, Product, Unit Of Measure, etc.).
Livelihood Strategies are categorized by type to allow for easy aggregation and comparison of Livelihood Strategies and Activities. They include things like milk production, crop production, food purchase, relief aid, and wild food gathering. See a full list.
Strategy Types are defined based on categories used in the BSS, with additions where necessary.
Livelihood Strategies use a similar Classified Product list to that used for equivalent Market Price data in the FEWS NET Data Warehouse:
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Livestock Sale strategies use the Classified Product for the animal, e.g. L02123: Goats. If the BSS includes a designation of local or export quality animals, more specific Classified Products will be used rather than an Additional Identifier. For example, Pig sales - local: no. sold uses the Classified Product L02140HA: Swine / pigs, local quality and Vente de moutons - locale: nb venduss uses the Classified Product L02122AP: Sheep, local quality.
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Meat Production strategies use the Classified Product for the meat product, e.g. P21116: Meat of goat, fresh or chilled.
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Milk Production strategies use the Classified Product for the raw milk, e.g. P02292: Raw milk of goats.
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Butter Production strategies use the Classified Product for the specific butter, e.g. P22249HC: Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk of goats.
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Crop Production strategies use the Classified Product for the non-seed crop, e.g. R01122: Maize (corn), other. Green consumption is also a Crop Production activity, using specific Classified Products for the green crop, e.g. R01290HA: Green corn (maize).
Primary Livelihood System
Standard: Custom taxonomy developed specifically for the HEA Database, informed by local knowledge and existing classifications where possible.
Description: This metadata type categorizes the primary Livelihood Zone System types, such as Pastoral, Rainfed, Agropastoral, etc. It includes but is not limited to pastoral and agricultural categories. Primary Livelihood Systems are defined based on regional economic activities and ecological characteristics.
Product
Standard: Central Product Classification (CPC) Version 2.1
Description: Products are categorized using the CPC Version 2.1, facilitating uniform classification of goods and services.
The leaf node of the main CPC hierarchy is used where that is appropriately specific. Where the main CPC hierarchy is not sufficiently specific then a leaf node from the FEWS NET Data Warehouse (FDW) is used instead, if one exists. These nodes contain a 2-letter suffix to the main CPC code, typically starting with A, e.g. P21393AA: Cassava Chips. If FDW does not contain a suitable product, then a new leaf node with a suffix beginning with H is created in the HEA database, e.g. R01219HA: Other leafy or stem vegetables, dark green.
The HEA database uses version 2.1 of the CPC hierarchy, as recommended by FSIN. Note that currently FDW is using version 2.0, so there are some discrepancies. The HEA database stores the `cpcv2` as a multi-valued correspondence code that matches the value in FDW. The primary key in the HEA database is just called `cpc`.
The FEWS NET Hub will create new Products on request.
Season
Standard: Custom taxonomy developed specifically for the HEA Database, based on similar information stored in FDW.
Description: A division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and associated Livelihood Zone Activities for income generation.
The Seasons for a Country are organized such that the set of Seasons covers a 12 month period with each month assigned to one Season and no Seasons sharing a month. Aliases are used to find a Season that corresponds information in the Baseline Storage Sheets (BSS).
Any Seasons referenced within the BSS should have an accompanying definition.
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Each definition should identify:
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Purpose: Milk Production, Butter Production, null, etc. Each Purpose must contain a set of entries that includes all months of the year.
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Type of season: Harvest, post-harvest, lean, etc.
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Typical start and end: The start and end of the season in months or number of days from the start of the year
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Milking cohorts, if applicable: For milk production, identify whether the Seasons are for multiple cohorts of animals or early and late milking Seasons for a single cohort.
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Geography, if applicable: Some countries have multiple different Seasons in different parts of the country or for different types of livelihood. In this case, the Season definition must also be associated with the relevant Livelihood Zones or other geographic boundaries.
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Examples:
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Season 1: Cropping, main harvest season; October-December
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Season 2: Milking, second cohort; April-June
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Source Organization
Standard: Centrally maintained list
Description: There are currently only two approved Source Organizations: FEWS NET and Save the Children. The FEWS NET Hub controls this metadata item because changes to it typically have implications for user accounts and permissions management.
Wealth Group Category
Standard: Custom taxonomy developed specifically for the HEA Database, informed by local knowledge and existing classifications where possible.
Description: Local definitions of Wealth Groups, common to all Baseline Studies in a Livelihood Zone (LHZ), such as Very poor, Poor, Medium, Better off. These categories help in understanding the economic stratification within communities.
Although this is a custom taxonomy, it contains only a small number of items, and changes to the list are rare. Therefore it is appropriate for the FEWS NET Hub to control changes to the list, particularly because they may have impacts on the application code.
Wealth Group Characteristic
Standard: Custom taxonomy developed specifically for the HEA Database, informed by local knowledge and existing classifications where possible.
Description: Characteristics of a Wealth Group, such as "Number of children at school", livestock ownership, land size, etc. These characteristics provide detailed insights into the assets and vulnerabilities of different wealth groups.
Livestock Wealth Group Characteristics use classified products to enable easy matching against other data such as market prices.
Trees do not use classified products and are separate Wealth Characteristics. This is because the existing hierarchy does not include trees as an obvious branch, the Baseline Surveys are not always specific about the types of tree owned (e.g. trees, or fruit trees), and trees are closer to assets like oxcarts or motorcycles than they are to products and services.
Fruit from trees, e.g. Avocados or Mangoes have corresponding classified products which are used in the Crop Production Livelihood Activities to capture income from the sale of fruit and calories from consumption of it. The fruit can be cross-referenced with other CPC-coded data, most importantly current price data.
The Hub will create new items on this list as required to enable the BSS to be fully recognized. The Hub will conduct periodic reviews to ensure that the metadata standards are being followed. The Hub will provide recommendations on new items on request.
Many of the BSSs use wealth characteristic labels on the ‘WB’ worksheet like “Other (Fishing Gear)” or “Other (Fruit Trees)”. They also contain a mixture of singular (television, motorcycle, kiosk) and plural (hoes, avocado trees, oxcarts).
The Wealth Group Characteristic metadata will be standardized to use the singular version, without the “Other”. I.e. if the BSS has the label “Other (Fruit Trees)”, the corresponding Wealth Characteristic will be “Fruit Tree”.
The list of aliases for the Wealth Characteristic will contain all of the variations found in BSSs that contain that Characteristic, e.g.
name = 'Fruit Tree'
aliases = [
'fruit trees',
'other fruit trees - type',
'tree for fruits (mangoes, orange, jack, avocado etc)'
]