Irish Census of Agriculture (ICA)
Central Statistics Office
An Agricultural Census is a statistical operation to compile census data on crops, livestock, farm labour and miscellaneous agricultural items for collecting, processing and disseminating data on all farms and farmers in a country.The Census of Agriculture survey is a statutory survey conducted every 10 years under the provisions of the Statistics (Census of Agriculture) Order, 2020 (S.I. No 281 of 2020). Under Sections 26 and 27 of the 1993 Statistics Act you are obliged by law to complete and return this form. Any person who fails or refuses to provide this information or who knowingly provides false information may be subject to prosecution under Part VI of the Act.
Data Attributes
| Collection Method | Within the European Union (EU), each of the Member States will be tasked with collecting set data for the farmers and the farms above certain physical thresholds in their country. This will mean collecting data on as many as 10.5 million farms (2016 data) in the EU. Member States will establish teams of supervisors and enumerators to conduct the Agricultural Census, typically overseen by a combination of civil servants from the Statistical Office and the Ministry of Agriculture. They will use all types of collection methods to complete the Agricultural Census, inter alia farm registers, administrative sources and surveys. For the surveys, enumerators will contact farmers over the internet, by telephone, by letter or through face-to-face questioning. By allowing a more extensive use of administrative sources in 2020, the overall cost of the census will be reduced. At the same time, the burden on farmers will be alleviated, as they will receive questionnaires that are already partially pre-filled. In the EU’s Agricultural Census 2020 approximately 300 variables will be collected, covering the following aspects on farming: General characteristics of the farm and the farmer |
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