Agricultural Census, 2010
Belgium, 2011
Identification
BEL_2010_AC_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
Agricultural Census, 2010
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Belgium | BEL |
Agricultural Census [ag/census]
Belgium participated in all the rounds of the WCA. The first agricultural census was conducted in 1846. Between 1846 and 1960, eight censuses were conducted, at intervals of 10 to 15 years. As one of the six founding countries of the European Union (EU), Belgium has been organizing censuses of agriculture harmonized with EU standards and requirements since 1960. The metadata review and data presented here refer to the Agricultural Census (AC) 2010, which was carried out together with the SAPM.
The 2010 agricultural census is based on the Royal Decree of 12 March 2008, which provides that the organisation of an annual agricultural survey in May (in the form of a census in 2010). The Royal Decree specifies that the survey is carried out among farms whose registered office is located in the Netherlands. is located in Belgium. A farm is defined as a business producing agricultural products for sale. Participation in the agricultural survey is mandatory. Under the authority of the Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed and Energy, the Management General of Statistics and Economic Information, is the prime contractor for the survey. The data collection is entrusted to the municipal administrations. The 2010 Production Methods Survey is a voluntary sample survey of 2407 farmers with no legal basis. The 2010 Census of Agriculture consists of a survey of a wide range of information on the agricultural holdings: legal personality and management of the holding, characteristics agricultural labour force, crop area, livestock numbers, type of equipment, information on agricultural buildings and installations. The characteristics retained are as follows more numerous and more detailed than those of the farm structure survey agricultural, in order to meet the demands of national users as well. Generally speaking, the definitions of the characteristics identified are in line with the definitions laid down by Community legislation on which the survey on the structure of the farms.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Households
Scope
The scope of the study includes legal personality and management of the holding, characteristics agricultural labour force, crop area, livestock numbers, type of equipment, information on agricultural buildings and installations.
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Rural Development | FAO |
| Food (production, crisis) | FAO |
| Labor | FAO |
| Livestock | FAO |
Coverage
National coverage
The statistical unit in the AC 2010 is the agricultural holding (farm), defined as the holding (of at least 1 are) producing "farm products or horticultural products" for sale as principal or secondary activity, or keeping animals, whether or not they produce goods for sale. Experimental or research establishments, nursery services of public bodies producing agricultural products for their use, schools, religious communities, prisons and other similar establishments were also covered by the census.
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Statistics Belgium | Directorate General for Statistics and Economic Information or STATBEL |
Sampling
The frame of agricultural holdings is based on the Register of Holdings held by the STATBEL, which includes the farms producing agricultural products with a view to selling them. The register is updated annually using the data provided by the municipalities carrying out the farm surveys. The AC 2010 was conducted using complete enumeration.
Survey instrument
The information for the AC was collected using a single form, except for farms with a large number of workers (holdings with more than ten familial or non-familial workers), which received an additional questionnaire specifically devoted to agricultural labour. The questionnaire was prepared in three languages (French, Dutch and German). The census covered all 16 core items recommended in the WCA 2010.
- IDENTIFICATION OF THE HOLDING
- AGRICULTURAL LABOUR (between 1 May 2012 and 30 April 2013)
- OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT
- OUTDOOR OR GREENHOUSE CROPS
- OTHER LAND INFORMATION
- CHEPTEL (situation as at 1 May)
- MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES
- FARMING METHODS AND PRACTICES
- DIRECT SALES ON THE FARM
- EQUIPMENT USED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY BY TYPE OF ENERGY SOURCEn SOURCE OF ENERGY
- Material
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2011-02 | 2011-04 |
Reference periods:
· the 12 months preceding 1 May 2010, for agricultural labour, the area of crops under protective cover, etc.
· three years preceding the survey year, for rural development data, some indicators in the SAPM, etc. and
· the year 2010 or the last 12 months, for the collection of other SAPM items.
Agricultural census data were collected by the census enumerators, either at the farmer's residence or that of his or her representative, or at the offices of the municipal authorities after an interview had been arranged. The municipal authorities could choose between a printed form and an electronic "Blaise" form for data collection. Data on rural development aid were obtained from administrative data sources.
Data processing
a. DATA PROCESSING AND ARCHIVING
Following data collection, the municipalities provided the paper-based forms to the relevant decentralized offices for data processing. The data were encoded on PCs using a Blaise application. The data collected using electronic forms were placed in the same database. At regular intervals, the data from each decentralized office were entered in a Blaise database on a central server. Imputations were rare as there were few nonresponses and missing data issues were normally addressed by contacting the respondent. In the few situations where imputation was necessary, it was done using data from a previous year's survey. The data were then transferred to an SPSS database to perform further analysis and calculation of results.
b. CENSUS DATA QUALITY
The response rate was 99.7 percent. A comparison between the survey results and the administrative data was made, for analysis purposes only (to prepare for the future task of replacing survey variables with administrative data) and not for statistical use.
Data appraisal
A summary of provisional results based on approximately 53 percent of questionnaires was published in August 2010. The final census results were published in March 2011. The census results are available to users free of charge on the STATBEL website. User access to anonymized individual data is subject to rigorous conditions, outlined in an agreement signed by parties.
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | See https://statbel.fgov.be/en/disclaimer |
See https://statbel.fgov.be/en/disclaimer
CONTACT:
Directorate General for Statistics and Economic Information,
Federal Public Service for the Economy, SMEs,
the Self-Employed and Energy
(Statistics Belgium)
Address: North Gate - Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 16 - 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Telephone: (+32) (0)2 2776505
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses
Contacts
| Name | URL | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics Belgium | [email protected]; [email protected] | www.statbel.fgov.be |
Metadata production
DDI_BEL_2010_AC_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_FAO
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Chief Statistician | Food and Agriculture Organization | Adoption of metadata for FAM |
| Census team, Statistics Division | Food and Agriculture Organization | Metadata producer |
Metadata version
BEL_2010_AC_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_v01