Agricultural Census 2020
Belgium, 2020 - 2021
Get MicrodataIdentification
BEL_2020_EAG_v01_M_v01_A_ESS
Agricultural Census 2020
EAG 2020
Enquête Agricole Générale 2020
| 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 Agricultural Census is a statistical operation designed to collect and disseminate information on the structure of agriculture. It 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 Agricultural Census 2020 (Enquête Agricole Générale 2020, EAG) covered information not available in administrative sources including topics such as labor, agricultural diversification, livestock, and irrigation. The aggregated statistical results of the EAG 2020 will serve as a reference for monitoring developments in agriculture, they will be used by many stakeholders in the agricultural sector, and they will serve to evaluate agricultural policy.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Agricultural holdings
Scope
The census scope covered agricultural (crop and livestock production) activities.
The questionnaire collected information on:
- General Information on Operations
- Agricultural Labor
- Information about the Land and Irrigation
- Livestock and Poultry
Coverage
The EAG 2020 covered the entire country.
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 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. Regarding activities of class A.01.49, only the activities "Raising and breeding of semi-domesticated or other live animals" (except for raising of insects) and "Beekeeping and production of honey and beeswax" were included. In some cases, it occurred that a few holders made one declaration for several single units.
The following thresholds for agricultural holdings were applied in the EAG 2020:
- 2 ha of utilized agricultural area (UAA)
- 0.5 ha of horticultural crops, potatoes, or fresh vegetables (including melons) and strawberries - outdoor
- 0.2 ha of aromatic, medicinal and culinary plants, flowers and ornamental plants, seeds and seedlings, nurseries
- 0.3 ha of fruits, berries, nuts, citrus fruits, other permanent crops including other permanent crops for human consumption
- 0.01 ha of cultivated mushrooms or greenhouses
- 1.5 livestock units
The animal housing and manure management module covered agricultural holdings with at least one cattle, pig, sheep, goat, or poultry.
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Middle Classes, and Energy (FPS Economy, Service Public Fédéral Économie, PME, Classes moyennes et Énergie), Statistics Belgium (STATBEL, Direction Générale Statistique) |
Sampling
The EAG 2020 comprised a core module and three thematic modules on labour force and other gainful activities, rural development, and animal housing and manure management. Some census data for the core module, and all census data related to the thematic module on rural development were collected directly from administrative registers.
The Statistical Farm Register was the list frame used in the EAG 2020, which is updated quarterly. The lists of farm holdings and cultivated areas were provided by regional administrations responsible for the IACS.
The census used a combination of complete and sample enumeration. The core, labour force and other gainful activities, and rural development modules were collected using complete enumeration, while data for the supplementary thematic module on animal housing and manure management was collected using sample enumeration.
In the EAG 2020, the sample of 5 200 agricultural holdings for the animal housing and manure management module was selected using a stratified simple random sample design. The stratification variables were location (NUTS1), type of livestock (seven categories) and size of the holding (two categories). Large holdings were covered exhaustively in each stratum. Sampling fractions were determined to largely fulfil precision requirements, considering expected the response rate. Calibration was used to adjust sampling weights. Sample was selected using SAS software.
The reported response rate was 88.9 percent.
Survey instrument
One questionnaire was used in the EAG 2020, prepared in French and Dutch. The questionnaire covered 15 out of 23 essential items recommended in the WCA 2020.
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2020-10 | 2021-05 |
Reference day: 15 October 2020, for livestock and animal housing, and all other variables.
Reference periods:
- from the end of February until the end of April 2020, the farmers declared their main crops to the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), if a crop was not yet sown at the moment of the declaration, they must give the area of crops that would be sown.
- from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020, for labour force.
- from 16 October 2019 to 15 October 2020, for irrigation and soil management practices, manure management.
- from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020, for rural development measures.
- Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI)
The EAG 2020 involved three specialists in economics, 29 enumerators, a methodologist, an IT specialist, and two coordinators and dissemination officers. All staff were from Statistics Belgium (STATBEL).
Data was collected using CAWI and postal (mail-out/mail-back) methods, but the majority of census data were collected directly from administrative registers to reduce the response burden. The following administrative registers were used for data collection: IACS, bovine register, pigs register, organic farming register, manure declarations, effluent movements, and rural development measures.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Some procedures were carried out to minimize non-sampling errors in the AC 2020: pre-filled questions, explanatory notes, or handbooks for enumerators or respondents to minimize measurement errors, as well as reminders and imputation to minimize item and unit non-response errors.
Data processing
Data editing entailed the removal of ineligible units from the records while leaving the other units' weights unchanged to minimize over-coverage errors.
DATA PROCESSING
Direct data capture was ensured by the CAWI method. For paper questionnaires, manual data entry was used. Data was validated using completeness checks, routine checks, relational checks, and comparison with previous rounds of data collection. Validation was carried out using Blaise and SAS. Imputation was used to minimize item and unit non-response using deductive imputation, ratio imputation, sequential hot deck imputation, and previous data from the same unit. Imputation was carried out using SAS software.
Data appraisal
Sampling errors were estimated using a post-stratified estimator with post-strata identical to sampling strata.
Data Access
Microdata is disseminated only with an official agreement of the commission for the protection of privacy. Requests for microdata are therefore assessed on a case-by-case basis. Only anonymized microdata is transmitted.
Information on the data request procedure and the data request form are available at:
https://statbel.fgov.be/en/about-statbel/what-we-do/microdata-research
For more information contact:
Directorate General for Statistics, Federal Public Service for the Economy, SMEs, the Self-Employed and Energy (Statistics Belgium)
Address: Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 16, North Gate III, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.
Telephone: (+32) (0)2 2776505
E-mail: statbel@economie.fgov.be; info.stat@economie.fgov.be
Website: www.statbel.fgov.be
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics Belgium (STATBEL, Direction Générale Statistique) | Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Middle Classes, and Energy (FPS Economy, Service Public Fédéral Économie, PME, Classes moyennes et Énergie) | statbel@economie.fgov.be | www.statbel.fgov.be |
Metadata production
DDI_BEL_2020_EAG_v01_M_v01_A_ESS_FAO
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics Belgium (Direction Générale Statistique) | Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Middle Classes, and Energy (FPS Economy, Service Public Fédéral Économie, PME, Classes moyennes et Énergie) | Metadata Producer | |
| Statistics Division | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Metadata adapted for FAM | |
| Development Data Group | DECDG | World Bank Group | Metadata adapted for World Bank Microdata Library |
Metadata version
Identical to a metadata (BEL_2020_EAG_v01_M_v01_A_ESS) published on FAO microdata repository (https://microdata.fao.org/index.php/catalog). Some of the metadata fields have been edited.