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Agricultural-Census

Agricultural Census 2020

Netherlands (Kingdom of the), 2020
Reference ID
NLD_2020_LA_v01_M_v01_A_ESS
Producer(s)
Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek), Team Agriculture and Nature (Team Landbouw en natuur), Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat), Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland)
Collections
Agricultural Censuses
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
Oct 05, 2026
Last modified
Oct 13, 2026
Page views
34
  • Identification
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Sampling
  • Survey instrument
  • Data collection
  • Data processing
  • Data Access
  • Contacts
  • Metadata production

    • Identification

    Survey ID number

    NLD_2020_LA_v01_M_v01_A_ESS
    Title

    Agricultural Census 2020
    Translated Title

    Landbouwtelling 2020
    Country
    Name Country code
    Netherlands (Kingdom of the) NLD
    Study type

    Agricultural Census [ag/census]
    Series Information

    From 1934, a census has been carried out almost every year in the Netherlands. The metadata presented here refers to the Agricultural Census 2020.
    Abstract

    The Agricultural Census 2020 is part of an EU-wide programme of agricultural censuses carried out in 2020 under EU Regulation 2018/1091 on integrated farm statistics and conducted under the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (https://www.fao.org/world-census-agriculture/en/). The objective of the census was to collect data on the structure of agriculture for the purposes of monitoring, evaluating, and revising the common agricultural policy.
    Kind of Data

    Census/enumeration data [cen]
    Unit of Analysis

    Agricultural holdings

    Scope

    Notes

    The census scope covered agricultural activities (crops and livestock).

    The questionnaire collected information on:

    1. Identification details
    2. Organic agriculture
    3. Legal status, farm management and safety plan
    4. Day-to-day management
    5. Labour
    6. Diversified agricultural activities
    7. Livestock and Poultry
    8. Other animals
    9. Animal feed
    10. Support schemes
    11. Greening
    12. Broad weather insurance
    13. Land
    14. My parcels
    15. Area-based support schemes
    16. Parcels declared as Ecological Focus Area (EFA)
    17. Parcels with significant interference from non-agricultural activities
    18. Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidy programme summary
    19. Summary of manure and land
    20. Irrigation
    21. Apple and pear varieties
    22. Payment request for Nature and Landscape Management Subsidy (SNL-a)
    23. Horticulture in 2020
    24. Horticulture in 2019
    25. Greenhouse horticulture
    26. Forced bulb cultivation
    27. Mushroom cultivation
    28. Chicory forcing cultivation
    29. Other crops in containers and buildings
    30. Producer organisations
    31. CO2 sector system: 2019 emissions declaration
    32. Heat supplier information
    33. Natural gas consumption and emissions
    34. Summary of 2019 emissions declaration
    35. Grazing and excretion 2020
    36. Grazing in 2019
    37. Fertilizer use
    38. Manure management
    39. Hemp labels
    Keywords
    Structure of Agriculture Land use Crops Livestock and Poultry Labour in the Agricultural Sector

    Coverage

    Geographic Coverage

    The Agricultural Census 2020 covered the entire country.
    Universe

    The statistical unit was the agricultural holding, defined as a single unit, both technically and economically, that has a single management and that undertakes economic activities in agriculture in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 belonging to groups A.01.1, A.01.2, A.01.3, A.01.4, A.01.5 or to the "maintenance of agricultural land in good agricultural and environmental condition" of group A.01.6 of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) within the economic territory of the Union, either as its primary or secondary activity, as it is stated in the Regulation (EU) No. 2018/1091 of the European Parliament and of the Council on integrated agricultural statistics.

    The threshold applied in the census was EUR 3000 standard output (SO), a measure of holding size based on the average annual yield per crop or animal category.

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name
    Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek), Team Agriculture and Nature (Team Landbouw en natuur)
    Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat), Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland)

    Sampling

    Sampling Procedure

    The frame of the census was based on the Administrative Farm Register (AFR) which is built up from and continuously updated by the Business Register (BR) and other administrative sources.

    The Agricultural Census 2020 was conducted as a complete enumeration of all agricultural holdings in the frame meeting the threshold requirement.

    Survey instrument

    Questionnaires

    One questionnaire was used in the Agricultural Census 2020.

    The questionnaire covered 19 out of 23 essential items recommended in the WCA 2020.

    Data collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End
    2020-03-02 2020-10-15
    Time Method

    Reference day:

    • 1 April 2020, for livestock and animal housing facilities
    • 15 May 2020, for insurances, land tenure, fruits, mushrooms, greenhouse

    Reference periods:

    • 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020, for land use
    • 1 April 2019 to 1 April 2020, for manure management and labour force
    • From 2018 to 2020, for rural development support
    Mode of data collection
    • Computer Assisted Web Interview [cawi]
    Data Collection Notes

    Approximately 15 full-time equivalent people were involved in census operations (survey developers, IT and data processing specialists, communication specialists, subject matter specialists, statisticians, project managers and supervisors).

    The census was composed of a core module and three thematic modules on labour force and other gainful activities, rural development, and animal housing and manure management. One-off complete enumeration was used even for the thematic modules, and data was collected through the CAWI method and with administrative registers. If holdings did not respond, reminders were sent multiple times if necessary. The response rate was greater than 95 percent. The administrative sources extensively used in the census were: the Administrative Farm Register, the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), the Identification and Registration of Livestock (I&R), rural developments measures, and Manure Transport Register.

    QUALITY ASSURANCE
    Statistics Netherlands adheres to the international standard of quality ISO 9001, and it is also certified for this standard; a peer review was conducted in 2015. There exists a quality management system to assure and assess quality through different procedures: training courses, use of best practices, quality guidelines, benchmarking, compliance monitoring, self-assessment, peer review, external review or audit, and certification. Regarding the Agricultural Census 2020, some actions were taken to reduce non-sampling errors (over-coverage, under-coverage, misclassification, and measurement): compulsory registration in the Business Register, obligation to fill in the census questionnaires, the dependency of subsidies on registration, continuously update and checks on the completeness of register, pre-testing questionnaire, pre-filled questions, etc. The questionnaire was designed, reviewed and validated by a group of experts. Survey instrument errors were likely to be minimal, because the internet application in use is already operational for several years. Remaining errors were mostly detected at early stage, either by automated control programs, or from plausibility checks during the analysis phase.

    Data processing

    Data Editing

    Direct data capture was ensured by the CAWI method. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency was responsible for data entry, data coding, and data validation at the record level. Validation, compilation, analysis, and data dissemination was done by Statistics Netherlands. The data was validated through different checks implemented in the internet application: data format, completeness, routine, range, relational, data flagging, comparison with previous rounds of the data collection, and with other domains in agricultural statistics. Several software tools were used during processing and validation (SPSS, R, Excel). After data collection and pre-processing by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, data was transferred to Statistics Netherlands for final data compilation, which includes checks and analyses at different levels (micro, meso, and macro). Unit non-response was handled by imputation of information from the previous census. To minimize processing errors, the information system was extensively tested, and manual actions were minimized as much as possible. All corrections were made using scripts (no manual adjustments), and before data was released, extensive checks and analyses were performed.

    Data Access

    Access conditions

    For additional information on data access and use, please contact Statistics Netherlands.
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Website: https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/economy/agriculture

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email URL
    Team Agriculture and Nature (Team Landbouw en natuur) Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek) [email protected] https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/economy/agriculture

    Metadata production

    DDI Document ID

    DDI_NLD_2020_LA_v01_M_v01_A_ESS_FAO
    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
    Team Agriculture and Nature (Team Landbouw en natuur) Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek) Metadata producer
    Statistics Division ESS Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Metadata adapted for FAM
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