Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic
Agriculture - methodology |
Contents |
| The agricultural industry embraces agricultural primary production enterprises engaged in crop production, livestock production and services for agriculture. Since 2002 the Czech Statistical Office has harmonized statistical surveys according to laws, regulations and recommendations in force for the EU Member States. The data are mostly sample surveyed, the sample of respondents is based on the updated Agro-register, and the results are grossed up by statistical mathematical methods. 100% structural surveys, which cover all active agricultural units, are conducted at longer time intervals in the framework of Agrocensuses. Since the year above, all the data have only been measured and grossed up for the agricultural sector and do not include own-account production of the population. The basic unit for records in the area of agricultural statistics is an agricultural holding which carries out activities classified to CZ-NACE divisions 01 (Agriculture, Hunting and Related Service Activities) and 05 (Fishing, Fish Farming and Related Service Activities) and defined by threshold values, namely by the agricultural land area of 1 hectare and over and by the following supplementary minimum criteria: 1 500 m2 of grown intensive crops (fruit, flowers, vegetables grown in the open), 1 000 m2 of vineyards, 300 m2 of area under cover, 1 head of cattle, 2 pigs, 4 sheep and goats, 50 heads of poultry, 100 rabbits or fur animals, and all holdings engaged in fish farming in water bodies irrespective of the area. Meeting at least one of the criteria is sufficient for incorporating the units into the agricultural sector. The questionnaire on areas, yields and production of agricultural crops used in the statistical survey on crop production is has been designed in compliance with requirements of international organisations. The crops are reporting net, without mixtures. Figures on hunting (CZ-NACE 01.5: Hunting, Trapping and Game Propagation Including Related Service Activities) are presented in chapter 15. Forestry as they are more tied with this economic activity and due to the intention to maintain continuity with the yearbooks published before. The economic accounts for agriculture (EAA) are a fundamental instrument to measure the economic size and efficiency of agriculture or agricultural primary production within the national economy. They include several basic aggregates: output of the agricultural industry - the sum of agricultural products and services produced by units operating in agriculture plus secondary inseparable activities, intermediate consumption - measures own goods, goods for resale and services consumed in the production process (excluding the use of fixed assets) and is one of the key indicators of the production intensity of agriculture, gross value added - indicates the resulting effect of agriculture as measured by the difference between output and intermediate consumption. It is used to assess the efficiency of agriculture within the national economy, net value added - the value produced by all agricultural units, obtained by subtracting fixed capital consumption from gross value added. The economic accounts for agriculture exclude units producing solely for their own consumption (kitchen gardens and private livestock raising). However, they include agricultural output for own consumption of farmers whose holdings are larger than the minimum size (lower threshold). The output is valued at basic prices—i.e. by the amount received by the producer from the buyer for a unit of goods or services produced by the producer, minus taxes on products plus subsidies on products. The intermediate consumption is valued at acquisition prices of similar goods or services in force when the goods or services are entering the production process. The prices include all taxes on products minus subsidies on products and exclude deductible taxes such as VAT. All agricultural and non-agricultural land is measured by summing up crop areas recorded in the real estate register kept by the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre as at 31 December. Agricultural land comprises arable land, hop-gardens, vineyards, gardens, orchards, and permanent grassland. Non-agricultural land includes forestland, ponds, lakes and other water surface areas, as well as built-up and other areas. All the figures on land are measured as crop areas of agricultural holdings and non-agricultural establishments or of private owners, no distinction being made as to the land size and the type of holder. Areas under crops measured by censuses taken as at 31 May include spring production areas (i.e., arable land areas; areas under crops in orchards and gardens, and areas of meadows and pastures temporarily ploughed and used for sowing) to be harvested in the reference period. They include:
The total area under crops does not include arable land areas not sown or planted. These areas are given under the separate item “Set-aside arable land” which refers to fallow land and all arable land not sown or planted for one reason or another, including temporarily excluded or not farmed land in the reference year (i.e. until the areas-under-crops census). Unlike Tables 14-5 and 14-6 “Land use”, the agricultural land and arable land given in Table 14-7 includes land farmed in the agricultural sector only—i.e. it excludes land used by the population and land not used for agriculture. The tables list data obtained through the questionnaire on final harvests of farm crops as of the end of year. The yield per hectare is the ratio of harvest to production area. The harvest is the total quantity of a crop harvested at standard moisture content and standard purity, including inferior portions of the crop that can be used for feeding livestock (grain waste, small discarded potatoes, etc.) and excluding seed crops and crop planting stock. Before 2002, the production area refers to an area from which the crop measured was actually harvested. It can be smaller than an area under crops, if such crop is destroyed or ploughed-in in the sowing-to-harvesting period or is not harvested. It can be larger than an area under crops, if used to grow another crop, too (e.g. if part of an area under green maize is grain harvested). Since 2002, production areas have been equal to areas under crops (except for grain maize, green and silage maize and permanent grassland). The number of fruit trees and bushes is obtained from processed questionnaires on final harvests as at the end of year. The harvest of individual fruits from fruit trees and bushes is sample surveyed as at the end of year, using questionnaires on final harvests of agricultural crops, and the data obtained are grossed up by mathematical statistical methods. The table gives an overview of the agricultural output in the self-supply area, implemented outside the agricultural sector in the households of population. It is compiled from expert estimates of the results obtained for own-account production in the households included in the reporting sample of household budgets statistics and from annual data provided by harvest and animal production surveys. Livestock population is derived from livestock censuses conducted as at 1 April of the following year (before 2002, as at 1 March of the following year). Cows are breeding dams calved at least ones, both mated and non-mated. Sows are breeding dams farrowed at least once (excluding sows discarded from breeding), both mated and non-mated. Poultry includes hens and cocks, geese and ganders, ducks and drakes, turkey hens and cocks (including young ones). Livestock unit is a fixed unit into which each livestock individual is converted by means of factors set as follows: cattle up to 1 year of age 0.4, fattening cattle over 1 year old 1.2, other cattle over 1 year old 1.0, sows 0.3, other pigs 0.2, sheep 0.14, goats 0.1, horses 1.0, and poultry 0.004. Cattle and pigs production - includes all sales of cattle, calves and pigs for slaughter in terms of live weight (the number of pigs includes estimates for home slaughtering). Poultry production - includes all sales plus in-house consumption of poultry for slaughter in terms of live weight. The number of weaned calves and piglets - the difference between young animals born and lost by death, namely calves up to three months of age and piglets till weaned. The number of born and weaned calves per 100 cows or piglets per 1 sow is related to the average population of cows or sows. The death loss of calves or piglets - given in percentage and calculated from the number of born animals. It also includes discarded animals. Milk production - includes milk both drawn from the cow for further treatment and milk sucked by unweaned calves; milk sucked from suckler cows is not counted in. The average milk yield is the quantity of milk produced over 1 year and falling on 1 cow in milk (including dry cows). Average egg-laying - the number of eggs laid by 1 hen (not per 1 laying hen only) per 1 year. Meat production in terms of carcass weight includes data from all abattoirs in the Czech Republic. Inevitable slaughters are counted in the carcass weight providing the meat is used for human consumption. The average carcass weight of pigs excludes sows and boars. Total sales of main agricultural products include all sales by primary producers from their own harvest to trading and processing companies, other sales (including products for in-house processing) and direct exports. Total sales of crop products exclude sales by small growers and gardeners. The figures on total sales of crop and animal products cover the period of a calendar year. Total sales of livestock for slaughter include cattle, calves, pigs, sheep, goats, and poultry in terms of live weight. The figures on sales of eggs only include eggs for consumption (hatching eggs are excluded). The consumption of fertilizers is given in terms of net nutrients contained in oxides, except for nitrogen. The agricultural production year includes consumption from 1 July of previous year to 30 June of current year. Due to the way of measuring, the figures exclude consumption of fertilizers by holdings of self-employed farmers. Consumption per ha refers to farmed (not fertilized) land. The time series includes conversion to 1 ha so that figures on individual years can be compared. The figures on the consumption of plant protection active substances are provided by the State Phytosanitary Administration in Prague. They were collected from records of agricultural holdings over 10 ha in acreage.
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More detailed information on the agriculture is available in the following CZSO publications brought out according to the CZSO Catalogue of Publications 2005 (group 2 – ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE; subgroup 21 - Agriculture):
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