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The World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA) is an international programme led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that supports the implementation of national censuses of agriculture on a 10-year basis through the use of standard concepts, definitions and methodology.[1] The WCA was developed in the years 1929–1930 by the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA).[2][3] Governments from many countries agreed to promote a coordinated implementation of censuses of agriculture around the world on a basis as uniform as possible. The WCA 1929–1930 constituted the first world census of agriculture round and was implemented in about 60 countries. The subsequent 1940 round could not be completed due to the onset of World War II. Following the dissolution of the IIA in 1946, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) took over the programme and launched in 1948 the WCA 1950 as well as the successive decennial programmes.[4] Seven decennial rounds – in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 – have been promoted by FAO. The current WCA 2020 is the tenth decennial international census of agriculture round and covers the censuses of agriculture to be carried out by countries between 2016 and 2025.[1]
In each decennial WCA, FAO supports member countries to carry out their national censuses of agriculture through the development and dissemination of up-to-date international standards, concepts, definitions and methodologies as well as technical assistance. Technical assistance involves capacity building in planning, designing and implementing censuses of agriculture.
In the first two WCA rounds, 1930 and 1940, the IIA recommended a “standard form” for use by all countries referring to the same census period. At that time, there was a large gap in agricultural information. However, many countries found it difficult to conduct the census using a long questionnaire given the limited human and technological resources. Each subsequent programme was enriched with the experience of previous programmes from both the methodological and operational points of view.[5][6]
The WCA 1950, the first programme developed by FAO, brought forward the idea of collecting data on the structural characteristics of agriculture as the primary purpose of the census. This focus on the structural characteristics of agriculture still holds. The WCA 1950 recommended a short list of essential census items and an extended list with items of secondary importance. The 1950 programme also gave increased attention to the definitions of census items and the tabulation of internationally comparable results.[5]
The WCA 1960 accomplished a quantum jump in census methodology as it introduced the use of sampling methods in census, including post-enumeration surveys (PES). The option to use sampling methods increased the number of countries participating in the census of agriculture. The programme arranged the census items into ten sections according to the subject matter. It also raised the relationship between the agricultural and the population censuses for the first time.[5]
The WCA 1970 discussed the role of the census of agriculture in the overall system of agricultural statistics, in terms of frame for sample surveys, benchmark for current agricultural statistics and capacity development for organizing subsequent agricultural surveys. The programme discussed the use of sampling in pilot censuses and pre-testing surveys, in PES, in quality checks during data processing, in tabulation of results, etc. The WCA 1970 introduced an entirely new section dealing with the association of agricultural holdings with other industries.[5]
The WCA 1980 brought about several recommendations. First, that the census of agriculture should be the basis for the collection of current agricultural data through improved methods. Second, that the census should be utilized for the development and improvement of an overall programme of food and agricultural statistics. Third, that concepts, definitions and methods should be harmonized with other related statistical systems and operations to ensure comparability and compatibility. Fourth, that more elaborate tabulations should be produced, helped by advances in electronic data processing. Fifth, each country should have greater flexibility and more freedom in adapting the programme. For the first time, a special chapter was dedicated to practical guidelines on the preparation and organization of a census of agriculture. The WCA 1980 was the first to indicate explicitly that it referred to national censuses conducted within the decade (1976-1985) centred on the reference year of the round (1980). Additional supplementary guidelines on taking censuses of agriculture were published later to provide practical information on the steps involved in actually conducting an census of agriculture.[5]
The WCA 1990 encouraged countries to develop and implement the census of agriculture according to their national economic and statistical capabilities and requirements. The programme made further efforts in harmonizing concepts, definitions and classifications with those used in other data sources. It did not recommend the inclusion of production and input quantities in the census scope. It recommended extensive cross-tabulations to ensure the maximum use of the census data. The WCA 1990 encouraged a complementary relationship between the census of agriculture and more frequent food and agricultural sample surveys as well as with related non-censuses of agriculture and surveys. Separate guidelines on micro-computer-based data processing (SDS 2a) were published later.[5]
The WCA 2000 stressed that economic units engaged solely in (a) hunting, trapping and game propagation; (b) forestry and logging; (c) fishing; or (d) agricultural services, were not considered as agricultural holdings and, therefore, considered outside the scope of the census. It recommended that the activities covered by the census of agriculture were included in the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, third edition, ISIC groups 011 (crops), 012 (animals) and 013 (crops and animals). The programme also introduced the issue of the role of women in agriculture and the presentation of census results disaggregated by sex. Another innovation was the option to include aquaculture holdings (introduced in supplementary guidelines, SDS 5b) and the marking of some items as having environmental implications. Two additional supplementary guidelines were published later. One on employment (SDS 5a) to improve concepts, definitions and standards used to collect employment information in censuses of agriculture. Another one (SDS 6) on conducting censuses of agriculture and surveys to provide more practical information on the steps involved in actually implementing an census of agriculture.[5]
The WCA 2010 programme introduced the modular approach. This approach consisted of a core module carried out on a complete enumeration basis to provide key structural data, in conjunction with one or more sample-based census supplementary modules to provide more in-depth data. The census items denoted as “essential” in earlier programmes were designated as core module items and complemented by items in the supplementary modules. The WCA 2010 also introduced the concept of aquacultural unit (for countries wishing to include an aquacultural supplementary module) and the option to conduct an aquacultural census in conjunction with the census of agriculture. Two new concepts – the sub-holding and the sub-holder – were introduced to measure the role of household members in the management of the holding, especially women. The programme introduced a community survey to be conducted in parallel with the census and for obtaining data on common infrastructure issues affecting farmers. Finally, the WCA 2010 gave emphasis to integrating and coordinating the agricultural and population censuses. This recommendation was underpin with the publication of supplementary guidelines for linking population and housing censuses with censuses of agriculture.[5][7][8]
The WCA 2020 programme[1] featured the discussion of four methodological modalities for conducting a census of agriculture: the classical (one-off) approach; the modular approach, which was introduced in the WCA 2010; the integrated census/survey modality, involving rotating survey modules over the inter-census years; and the combined census modality, which uses administrative data.[9] The programme made a clear distinction between ‘essential’ items and ‘frame’ items. In addition, other items, referred to as ‘additional’ items, were presented as optional. The WCA 2020 improved the approach for assessing the distribution of managerial decisions in the holding, useful for the collection of sex-disaggregated data. The programme included two new optional themes: “Fisheries” (capture fisheries activities conducted at household level) and “Environment/Green House Gases (GHG)” (basic agro-environmental data on GHG and ammonia emissions). Two more features of the WCA 2020 was, first, an increased emphasis on the use of information technology in data collection, processing and dissemination (e.g. CAPI, CAWI, the use of interactive online outputs and access to anonymised micro-data).[10] Another feature was recommendations to ensure cost-effectiveness of the census of agriculture.[11] The WCA 2020 was complemented by Operational guidelines,[12] which provided practical guidance on the main stages involved in the preparation and implementation of the census of agriculture.[1]
Country participation and documentation by WCA round
A repository of documents and metadata for censuses of agriculture undertaken since the WCA 1980 is available here. The repository includes a short country profile of the methodology, coverage and main results,[13] while a global review of agricultural censuses was published in early 2021.[14]
For the current decennial census round that ends in 2025, the WCA 2020, preliminary information is available here.[15] In early 2020, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conducted a mid-term review of the plans and progress of national censuses of agriculture in the 2020 round.[16]
Database on agricultural census data
In 2022, FAO endowed FAOSTAT, the world’s largest agricultural database, with a new domain that enables much easier comparison and assessment of trends over time of the agricultural structures of countries.[17]
Census of agriculture microdata
Starting with the WCA 2010 round (2005–2015), some countries provided access to anonymized census microdata (e.g. Armenia Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cook Islands, Estonia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Rep. of Korea, Lao DPR, Nepal, Namibia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the Philippines, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Tanzania, Uruguay, USA and Viet Nam). The Food and Agriculture Microdata (FAM) Catalogue had links to ten census datasets available in countries’ websites as of March 2020.[12]
The impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of WCA 2020
The pandemic affected planning and implementation of censuses of agriculture under the WCA 2020 round in both developed and developing countries. The extent of the impact varied according to the stages at which the censuses were, ranging from planning (i.e. staffing, procurement, preparation of frames, questionnaires), fieldwork (field training and enumeration) or data processing/analysis stages.[18][19][6]
The census of agriculture’s reference period is the agricultural year. Thus, countries carefully schedule census activities to ensure that crop and livestock data are collected at the right time. In some countries, lockdown measures resulted in a full year postponement of the census data collection as the agricultural season was missed. Some papers discussed the impact of COVID-19 on national censuses of agriculture.[19][18][6]
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given population, usually displayed in the form of statistics. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses include censuses of agriculture, traditional culture, business, supplies, and traffic censuses. The United Nations (UN) defines the essential features of population and housing censuses as "individual enumeration, universality within a defined territory, simultaneity and defined periodicity", and recommends that population censuses be taken at least every ten years. UN recommendations also cover census topics to be collected, official definitions, classifications, and other useful information to coordinate international practices.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates to "let there be bread". It was founded on 16 October 1945.
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually comprises multiple principal cities, jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships, boroughs, cities, towns, exurbs, suburbs, counties, districts and even states and nations in areas like the eurodistricts. As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions.
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) are household surveys implemented by countries under the programme developed by the United Nations Children's Fund to provide internationally comparable, statistically rigorous data on the situation of children and women.
Statistics are at the core of the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), its mandate and strategic goals. Article I of its Constitution states that “The Organization shall collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate information relating to nutrition, food and agriculture. […] the term ‘agriculture’ and its derivatives include forestry, fisheries and aquaculture”.
The International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) was the first organization to systematically produce and exchange global data on crops, cultivated land, and trade flows. The late 19th century called for a demand in worldwide data on production, stocks, and consumption, as a rise in agricultural commoditities emerged in global markets. Private actors and services attempted to step in to address these gaps that were present in the agricultural field, but could not fulfill these issues. As a result, governments created the IIA to provide public international statistics, in response to these previous challenges. Their reports on crops and evaluations on international production became crucial components to analyze the global economy and universal agricultural data analytics. After World War II, it was replaced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
True Cost Accounting (TCA) is an accounting approach that measures and values the hidden impacts of economic activities on the environment, society and health. TCA is also referred to as “full cost accounting” (FCA) or “multiple capital accounting (MCA)”. The approach moves beyond purely economic thinking with the aim of improving decision-making in commercial organizations and in public policy. It includes accounting for natural capital, human capital, social capital and produced capital.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is a ministry of the Government of the Republic of India concerned with coverage and quality aspects of statistics released. The surveys conducted by the Ministry are based on scientific sampling methods.
Agricultural land is typically land devoted to agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of life—particularly the rearing of livestock and production of crops—to produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with both farmland or cropland, as well as pasture or rangeland.
In modern agriculture, a rare breed is a breed of poultry or livestock that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened conservation status, and they may be protected under regional laws. Many countries have organizations devoted to the protection and promotion of rare breeds, for which they each have their own definition. In botany and horticulture, the parallel to rare animal breeds are heirloom plants, which are rare cultivars.
The FAO geopolitical ontology is an ontology developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to describe, manage and exchange data related to geopolitical entities such as countries, territories, regions and other similar areas.
AGRIS is a global public domain database with more than 12 million structured bibliographical records on agricultural science and technology. It became operational in 1975 and the database was maintained by Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development, and its content is provided by more than 150 participating institutions from 65 countries. The AGRIS Search system, allows scientists, researchers and students to perform sophisticated searches using keywords from the AGROVOC thesaurus, specific journal titles or names of countries, institutions, and authors.
DAD-IS is the acronym for Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, which is a tool developed and maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is part of FAO's programme on management of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture. It includes a searchable database of animal breed-related information.
The Voluntary Guidelines to support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, also known as the Right to Food Guidelines, is a document adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2004, with the aim of guiding states to implement the right to food. It is not legally binding, but directed to states' obligations to the right to food under international law. In specific, it is directed towards States Parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and to States that still have to ratify it.
The David Lubin Memorial Library is the main library of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Its world-renowned collection consists of technical material related to food, nutrition, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, with emphasis on developing countries. The core of its historical collection is the library of the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA), whose assets were entrusted to FAO when the IIA was disbanded in 1946.
A census of agriculture is a statistical operation for collecting, processing and disseminating data on the structure of agriculture, covering the whole or a significant part of a country. Typical structural data collected in a census of agriculture are number and size of holdings, land tenure, land use, crop area, irrigation, livestock numbers, gender of holders, number of household members, labour and other agricultural inputs. In a census of agriculture, data are collected at the holding level, but some community-level data may also be collected.
Forest cover is the amount of trees that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative or absolute. Nearly a third of the world's land surface is covered with forest, with closed-canopy forest accounting for 4 - 5 billion hectares of land. Forests provide many ecosystem services that humans and animals cannot survive without, but anthropogenic actions and climate change are threatening global forest cover in potentially irreversible ways.
Agrifood systems encompass the primary production of food and non-food agricultural products, as well as in food storage, aggregation, post-harvest handling, transportation, processing, distribution, marketing, disposal and consumption. Within agrifood systems, food systems comprise all food products that originate from crop and livestock production, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and from other sources such as synthetic biology, and that are intended for human consumption.
↑ Castano, J. and Cara, O. Integrating agricultural censuses and surveys for optimal sectoral data collection. 62nd ISI World Statistics Congress 2019. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 18–23 Aug 2019
↑ Castano, J. Streamlining the cost of the census of agriculture. Eighth International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS-VIII, 2019), New Delhi, India
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