All-Russia Agricultural Census 2006

*K. Laykam, Deputy Head of Federal Service of Statistics (ROSSTAT)*

*A. Epikhina, Deputy Director of Department for enterprise and other
economic entities statistics*

The implementation of required organizational and methodological
arrangements for agricultural census conducting is determined by the
Mid-term Prospects Social-Economic Development Program of the Russian
Federation (2002-2004), (2003-2005). According to the Russian Federation
Government instructions № 1626-p (dated 10 November 2003) the census
will be conducted in the year 2006.

1.  All-Russia agricultural census conduction actuality

During the last decade significant changes took place in Russian
agriculture. Among them there is mixed economy; new production structure
which appeared because of deconsolidation of agricultural organizations;
activation of individual sector and changes in property relations.

Along with development of new economic relations the reorganization of
agriculture status statistical survey took place. Traditionally used by
state statistics all-over survey method become inefficient because of
high cost.

Nowadays one of the main directions of the statistics survey development
is the wide usage of sampling method. In Russian Statistics sampling
survey system has been used for 10 years regarding private (peasant)
farms.

According to the international practice the agricultural censuses are
organized every 5-10 years. This faces the recommendations of FAO and
other international organizations. This is vital for proper quality and
objectiveness of statistical information on agriculture.

All-Russia agricultural census will be conducted for the first time in
decade. Last time similar work was organized in 1920. Later several
single-purpose agricultural censuses were organized. Special attention
should be given to crop sown area censuses of 1964, 1976, 1985, fruit
and berries and vineyards censuses of 1984, all-category household
censuses and cattle production censuses (January 1996). Almost all of
the last censuses were conducted before the reforms in agriculture took
place. Therefore it is vital to organize All-Russia census in the
context of new economic conditions.

2.  All-Russia agricultural census purposes and objectives.

All-Russia agricultural census is the large-scale event. At the moment
there are approximately 25 thousands of large and medium agricultural
organizations, 8 thousands of small enterprises, 264 thousands of
private (peasant) farms, 16 millions of private household farms, 14.6
millions families which have collective and individual kitchen gardens,
more than 5 millions families which have plots for individual
construction and other agricultural producers. All-Russia agricultural
census will provide better quality of information on situation and
tendencies in the agricultural development trends; structural changes
connected with land reforms; role of each category of agricultural
producers in formation of the country's food resources and other
relevant issues.

This census organization will help to get detail characteristics of
agricultural production. They will be used as a basis proportions when
updating statistical indicators in the intercensal period. They will
help to conduct the actualization of general totalities to organize
sample surveys on small administrative entities.

The results of agricultural census will have important meaning for the
effective policy development and formation of more complete information
on food complex which is one of the parameter of economic security.

Agricultural census will be conducted in frameworks International round
of agricultural censuses and in accordance with FAO and other
international organizations recommendations.

During the preparation to Russian agricultural census the experience of
USDA, National Statistical Offices of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania was
studied.

3\. Regulatory Provision of the All-Russia agricultural census

The preparation of the federal Law on All-Russia agricultural census is
the key point of the census regulatory provision.

The adoption of the federal Law on All-Russia agricultural census will
provide required regulatory base to conduct census and will help to
regulate the relations appear during preparation, collection,
processing, storage and dissemination of census materials.

According to the draft law all the relevant legal bodies are obliged to
participate in the agricultural census irrespective of their
organizational and legal status. For the citizens who produces
agricultural products the participation in the census will be their
public duty.

Draft law determines the list of data to be received from citizens
during the census and also contains a rule on protection of primary data
received from respondents during the All-Russia agricultural census
conduction. There is also responsibility for confidentiality rules
breaking for persons who provide preparation, collection, processing,
storage and dissemination of census materials.

Draft law determines conditions, organizational and census conduction
order of agricultural censuses; rights and duties of governmental, local
authorities and respondents. One of the most important law sections
determines delimitation of authority, terms of reference and duties of
different level authorities (federal and regional executive and local
authorities) in respect of organization and conduction of All-Russia
agricultural census.

In separate section of law financing sources concerning preparation and
conduction of All-Russia agricultural census, the census results
preparation and publishing, expenses on salary for persons who collects
data will be determined.

The draft law must be approved by ministries and than presented to the
Government of the Russian Federation.

# 4. All-Russia agricultural census Program

According to the documents and recommendations of FAO in the census
program indicators on structure, forms of ownership and usage of
agricultural holdings, demographical characteristics of agricultural
producers and employment in agriculture, sizes and structure of sown
areas, livestock and poultry population, merchantability of agricultural
production, availability of the machinery and equipment, construction,
agricultural work, etc.

Statistical survey entity or objects of agricultural census are legal
bodies owing agricultural plots or and (or) farm animals; individuals
owing agricultural plots or and (or)farm animals.

The subjects of the census are the following agricultural producers:

-   agricultural organizations

-   the private (peasant) farm and self-employed entrepreneurs

-   private household farms

-   garden, kitchen garden, animal husbandry and country non-profit
    citizen communities

**5. Pilot agricultural census**

Pilot agricultural census is the preparatory stage of All-Russia
agricultural census. It was conducted (from 1 till 25 of August 2004) in
accordance with The Russian Federation Government order № 1626-p (dated
10 November 2003) in Briuhovetsky and Krimsky districts of the Krasnodar
Territory, Partizansky and Shushensky districts of the Krasnoyarsk
Territory, Nizhnelomovsky and Shemisheysky disricts of the Penza Region,
Petrovsky and Pugachevsky of the Saratov region.

The aim of the pilot census is an examination of organizational and
methodological principles of All-Russia agricultural census conducting.
It also involves approbation of All-Russia agricultural census Program,
determination of duration and information collection methods; wages
conditions for the staff involved; toolkit testing and staff load
measuring; data processing software development; cooperation with local
authorities and internal affairs bodies.

For the purpose of the All-Russia agricultural census Program and
Tool-Pack approbation in frameworks of STASYS project pilot surveys in
the Moscow and the Belgorod regions were conducted in May 2004.

The main methodological and organizational principles on agricultural
census conduction, recommendation on listing of agricultural producers,
questionnaires for different agricultural producers, instructions on
filling the questionnaires and other census tools were approved by
Federal service of State Statistics. Also the program on regional
statistics organizations staff and census employee training program was
developed.

During the pilot agricultural census 4 types of questionnaires were
used:

-   agricultural organizations questionnaire - type 1

-   the private (peasant) farm and self-employed entrepreneurs
    questionnaire -- type 2

-   private household farms and other individual households of
    population questionnaire -- type 3

-   garden, kitchen garden, animal husbandry and country non-profit
    citizen communities questionnaire -- type 4

The developed indicators system provides information on all main
characteristics of all agricultural producers. Аt the same time
questionnaires contain distinctions of each category of households.

The different methods of data collection were used for different
agricultural producers:

-   in agricultural organizations the respondents filled the
    questionnaires themselves

-   for other census subjects the general request method was used

At the moment we processing the results of pilot agricultural census
using the method of machine readable questionnaire scanning. Methods of
mathematic analysis and modeling will be used in the process of
automatic data processing to provide procedure of the auto correction
and imputation of statistical data.

The outcomes of pilot agricultural census will be used to improve
organizational, methodology and technological issues of conducting
All-Russia agricultural census 2006.