Third Progress Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Council Decision 96/411/EC on improving Community agricultural statistics
Date: 2007-11-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, action programme, agricultural statistics, national statistics, statistical method

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.11.2007 
COM(2007) 732 final 

THIRD PROGRESS REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

on the implementation of Council Decision 96/411/EC on improving Community 
agricultural statistics 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This report was drawn up in accordance with Article 11 of the Council Decision 96/411/EC of 
25  June  1996  on  improving  Community  agricultural  statistics1.  The  purpose  of  Decision 
96/411/EC, as laid down in Article 1 thereof, was to induce Member States, within the limits 
imposed by available resources, to take appropriate measures to adapt their national systems 
of agricultural statistics. 

The Community provides a financial contribution to the expenses incurred by each Member 
State in adapting the national systems or in carrying out preparatory work relating to new or 
increasing  requirements  provided  for  under  the  Technical  Action  Plan.  This  contribution  is 
limited  in  time.  It  is  aimed  at  facilitating  experimentation  with,  or  implementation  of, 
collection methods and systems meeting the statistical information requirements indicated in 
the Technical Action Plan. 

This report follows the previous report (COM(2002) 79 final of 13.2.2002) which covered the 
action plans for the years 1996 to 2001. 

2. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TAPAS2

 TECHNICAL ACTION PLANS 

technical  action  plans  were  defined  by  Commission  Decisions  2003/304/EC3, 
Six 
2004/366/EC4,  2004/637/EC5,  2005/197/EC6,  2006/127/EC7  and  2007/84/EC8.  The  various 
areas  of  work  covered  by  the  Technical  Action  Plans  are  as  follows:  physical  aspects  of 
European  agriculture;  environmental  aspects  of  agricultural  accounting;  agri-environmental 
indicators, including the use of pesticides; rural development; farm statistical registers; small 
units  surveys,  i.e.  surveys  on  small  farms;  statistics  on  the  structure  of  farms;  and  organic 
farming. 

The corresponding Community budget is outlined in Annexes 1 and 3, the number of action 
plans  by  work  area  and  Member  State  are  listed  in  Annex  2  and  the  individual  actions  are 
listed in Annex 4 of this report. 

2.1. 

Data on the physical aspects of European agriculture 

This  was  a  continuation  of  the  work  done  in  previous  years  (see  Second  Progress  Report, 
COM(2002) 79). The actions were undertaken to improve data on areas, production and use 
of crops, and particularly the balances; data on livestock populations, production and use of 
animal  products,  and  particularly  the  meat  balances;  development  of  feed  balances  by 
improving the estimation methods, and achieving better consistency between supply balances 
and the feed balance. In all, 37 actions were carried out in 16 Member States, which resulted 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

OJ  L  162,  1.7.1996,  p.  14.  Decision  as  last  amended  by  Decision  No  787/2004/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 12). 
Technical Action Plan for Agricultural Statistics. 
OJ L 110, 3.5.2003, p. 15. 
OJ L 114, 21.4.2004, p. 32. 
OJ L 291, 14.9.2004, p. 14. 
OJ L 65, 11.3.2005, p. 30. 
OJ L 51, 22.2.2006, p. 19. 
OJ L 35, 8.2.2007, p. 18. 

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in  a  significant  improvement  in  the  completeness  of  the  corresponding  datasets,  especially 
concerning the ten Member States which acceded to the European Union in May 2004. 

2.2. 

Environmental aspects of agricultural accounting 

One action was carried out, following the actions realised under the previous programme, to 
test  the  feasibility  of  introducing  into  the  Economic  Accounts  for  Agriculture  (EAA) 
methodology certain concepts and definitions that enable environmental elements to be dealt 
with as services in total production, subsidies or taxes. Although the results were interesting, 
they did not  lead  to a major change  in the methods or results of the regular statistics in the 
area. 

2.3. 

Agri-environmental indicators 

Agri-environmental indicators were the subject of actions to improve existing indicators such 
as regional-level information on yields of certain crops, and data on the sale or consumption 
of mineral fertilisers. They also covered the establishment of landscape indicators such as the 
lengths of hedges or walls or the areas used at regional level outside the utilised agricultural 
area (pasture, alpine meadow, etc.); the effects of structural characteristics on the operation of 
holdings;  and  data  on  cultivation  practices.  The  actions  concerning  the  use  of  pesticides 
continued the collection and processing of data plus improvement in the quality and speed of 
transmission  by  using  a  variety  of  methods  and  sources.  Actions  on  nutrient  balances  are 
foreseen in the context of the 2007 annual plan. 

Concerning  agri-environmental  indicators,  26  actions  were  completed,  are  underway  or 
planned,  involving  10  Member  States.  The  actions  proved  useful  in  raising  awareness  and 
launching work in the corresponding Working Party. The actions were a starting point for the 
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning statistics 
on plant protection products9 and for the fertiliser surveys which might be carried out in the 
future. 

2.4. 

Rural development 

Rural  development  is  a  growing  area  in  agricultural  statistics,  involving  a  more  detailed 
territorial  breakdown  of  information  normally  collected  at  national  level,  and  territorial 
breakdowns  that  differ  from  the  administrative  regions  used  for  the  production  of  regional 
statistics. A wide range of subjects was covered, including non-agricultural income of farms 
and families  (particularly from activities  that are  complementary to  agricultural  activity and 
community  services  provided  by  farmers),  living  conditions  in  rural  regions,  and  the 
contribution of agriculture as a support for other economic and cultural activities. 

Concerning  rural  development,  31  actions  were  completed,  are  under  way  or  planned, 
involving a total of 14 Member States. 

2.5. 

Farm statistical registers 

Farm  statistical  registers  provide  the  framework  for  the  collection  of  data  from  agricultural 
holdings.  They  serve  as  a  sampling  frame  for  statistical  surveys,  and  as  a  source  of  basic 
administrative  information  on  holdings,  and  have  the  potential  to  link  up  with  other  data 

9 

COM(2006) 778 final of 11.12.2006. Ref: 2006/0258 (COD). 

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sources.  Good  registers  can  provide  up-to-date  information  on  the  numbers  and  types  of 
agricultural holding and can reduce the statistical burden on respondents by exploiting links to 
existing data collections 

The 14 actions undertaken by Member States under the TAPAS 2005 and 2006 action plans 
involved: 

(i) 

improvement and automation of the register-updating procedures; 

development  of  links  with  other  relevant  data  sources  such  as  the  Business  Register 

(ii) 
and animal registers; and 

(iii) 

improvement of the quality and coverage of national farm registers. 

2.6. 

Small units surveys 

Six Member States took part in the TAPAS 2005 and 2006 action plans aimed at studying the 
coverage of small agricultural holdings. The work involved examining the different categories 
and  characteristics  of  smallholdings,  obtained  from  different  sources,  and  identifying  which 
types of smallholding should be recorded in the national farm register. 

2.7. 

Statistics on the structure of farms 

In 2003, before joining the European Union, the 10 prospective Member States carried out a 
survey  on  the  structure  of  agricultural  holdings,  but  they  were  not  obliged  to  transmit  the 
individual data to Eurostat. The second phase of the TAPAS 2004 action plan enabled them to 
prepare  such  transmission  and  to  consolidate  those  statistics.  It  also  made  possible 
methodological work and the implementation of Community typology of agricultural farms. 
The timely transmission and quality of the 2005 farm structure survey results can be seen as a 
fruitful consequence of the TAPAS actions. 

2.8. 

Organic farming 

A  further  15  actions  on  organic  farming  are  planned  for  2007.  They  include  actions  to 
establish  or  improve  statistics  on  the  production,  processing  and  consumption  of  organic 
products, their balance sheets and prices. 

3. 

EVALUATION 

A discussion in the Standing Committee for Agricultural Statistics (SCAS) in March 2007 led 
to the following conclusions: 

•  Most of the actions now completed have yielded useful results. 

•  Almost  all  SCAS  members  appreciated  the  exchange  of  experience  between  the 
beneficiaries of the TAPAS action plans, as well as the long-term vision of the statistical 
developments needed. 

•  On  the  other  hand,  some  SCAS  members  raised  concern  about  the  effectiveness  of 
TAPAS,  and  questioned  the  Community  interest  of  the  actions  carried  out.  Certain 
Members are against prolonging TAPAS or have severe reservations. 

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•  The administrative burden (in terms of contract work and legislation) was also mentioned 

as being out of proportion to the budget used. 

•  Launching studies through TAPAS was also considered to be quite a long process, taking 

about one year longer than through the normal grant policy. 

The Commission is of the opinion that the need to adapt the statistical system to new needs 
will remain, as well as the need to financially support such adaptation by the Member States. 
However, funding the actions through normal EU grants would be an efficient alternative to 
the TAPAS procedure. 

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ANNEX 1 

Community expenditure under the Annual Action Plans 
 (authorised amounts and commitments) 

Annual action 
plans 

2003–2007 

TAPAS 
2003 

TAPAS 
2004 
Phase I 

TAPAS 
2004 
Phase II 

TAPAS 
2005 

TAPAS 
2006 

TAPAS 
2007 

Number of 
actions  

Agri-
environmental 
indicators 

Environmental 
aspects of 
agricultural 
accounting 

Data on 
physical 
aspects of 
European 
agriculture 

Rural 
development 

Statistics on 
farm structure 

135

38

22

24

16 

8 

27

731 400

711 400

487 000 

244 400 

467 000

244 400

26 actions

18 actions

8 actions

25 000

25 000

25 000 

25 000

1 action

1 action

740 125

702 369

177 000 

206 979 

356146 

143 500

206 970

351 889

37 actions

10 actions

7 actions

20 actions

1 094 217

285 500 

137 000 

1 039 211

230 500

137 000

32 actions

9 actions

7 actions

211 520 

460 197 

211 514 

4 actions 

12 actions

113 850

113 850

4 actions

113 850 

113 850

4 actions

Farm registers 

1 818 849

1 818 849

14 actions

225 183

225 132

6 actions

594 895

15 actions

Small units 

Organic 
farming 

1 682 849 

136 000 

1 682 849 

136 000 

11 actions 

3 actions 

215 183 

10 000 

215 132 

10 000 

5 actions 

1 actions 

594 895 

15 actions

Total allocated 

5 343 519

974 500 

588 379 

469 996 

1 898 032 

357 520 

1 055 092 

Total 
commitment 

In % 

5 230 706

866 000

588 379

465 749

1 897 981 

357 514 

1 055 092 

97.9 %

88.9 %

100 %

99.1 %

100 % 

100 % 

100 %

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ANNEX 2 

TAPAS 2003–2007 
Number of action plans by work area and Member State 

Agri-
environmental 
indicators 

Data on 
physical 
aspects of 
European 
agriculture 
+ EAA 

COUNTRY 

Rural 
development 

Statistics on 
farm 
structure 

Farm 
registers 

Small units 

Organic 
farming 

Total 

BE 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IE 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

Total 

EN 

2

0

3

5

0

0

1

0

0

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

2

0

0

0

0

1

5

1

1 

2 

4 

1 

2 

0 

2 

0 

0 

4 

0 

2 

2 

0 

2 

2 

0 

3 

0 

2 

1 

2 

5 

1 

0 

4

0

2

5

1

0

2

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

2

1

4

2

0

1

0

0

1

3

2

26

38 

32

7 

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

1

0

0

0

4

0

1

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

1

0

1

1

1

1

14

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

6 

1 

0 

3 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

3 

0 

1 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

1 

0 

8

3

13

12

6

1

5

0

0

13

1

5

4

0

6

3

8

8

2

4

3

6

9

11

4

15 

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ANNEX 3 
TAPAS 2003–2007 
Amounts committed by work area and Member State 

Agri-
environmental 
indicators 

Data on 
physical 
aspects of 
European 
agriculture 
+ EAA 

COUNTRY 

Rural 
development 

Statistics on 
farm 
structure 

Farm registers 

Small units 

Organic 
farming 

Total 

% 

BE 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IE 

IT 

CY 

LV 

LT 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

90 000 

25 000 

160 548

0 

40 000 

0

29 000 

72 000 

28 000

201 000 

20 000 

192 500

0

0

0

0

0

60 000

0

0

37 627 

313 175

0 

100 000

0

10 000

55 000 

194 000

5.9

1.9

3.6

243 000

0 

656 500

12.3

29 700 

19 343

13 950

53 856

14 650 

131 499

0 

0

12 000 

73 729 

24 000

0 

0 

0 

0 

0

0

127 500  126 000 

103 968

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

21 096 

14 000 

0 

0

0

0

0

30 500 

58 361

28 600 

29 283

85 000 

0 

110 000

55 000 

43 500 

91 214

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

311 440

42 000

0

0

0

0

60 000

446 639

0 144 000 

144 000

0

0

0

0 

0 

0 

109 729

0

0

0 200 337 

869 245

16.3

0

0 

42 000

64 069

18 083

16 284 

119 532

9 000

31 000 

54 000

0

0 

0

29 700

34 597 

153 158

0 

0

54 000

45 000

33 500 

30 000

0

175 845

11 250 

38 000 

0

0

9 900

0 113 400

36 000

54 000

45 000

7 200 

180 200

31 500  138 250 

27 000

77 000 

20 000 

55 000

23 400 

0 

165 000

0

0

0

36 000

40 000

187 000

0

0

0

43 400 

276 150

10 800 

202 800

0 

375 400

636 353

11.9

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

57 883

255 000

99 000

239 345

134 550

2.5

2.7

2.1

0.0

0.0

0.8

2.2

1.0

0.0

2.9

1.1

4.8

1.9

4.5

2.5

3.4

5.2

3.8

7.0

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total 

731 400  765 125  1 094 217 113 850 1 818 849 225 183 594 895  5 343 519 100.0

% 

13.7 

14.3 

20.5

2.1

34.0

4.2

11.1 

100.0   

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ANNEX 4 

List of actions by work area, year and Member State 

Physical aspects of European Agriculture 

These  actions  continue  those  undertaken  under  the  previous  plans  (see  Second  Progress 
Report,  COM(2002)  79).  They  were  limited  to  the  annual  plans  for  2003  and  2004  (both 
Phases I and II) and covered the following thirty-seven actions: 

2003 

Improvement of meat balances 
Improvement of fodder balance 
Improvement of fodder balance 
Improvement of fodder balance 

DK: 
DK: 
IT: 
AT: 
AT:  Flower and vegetable production 
AT: 
PT:  New methods for livestock survey 
PT: 
FI: 
SE: 

Production of flowers 
Advance estimates of cereal area and output 
Internet-based cereals data collection 

Improvement of wine production forecasts 

2004 Phase I 

Fruit and vegetables production in greenhouses 

DK:  Fruit and vegetables statistics 
ES: 
ES:  Usefulness of data contained in SIMOGAN system 
FI: 
FI: 
FI: 
FI: 

Horticulture statistics 
Electronic data transmission 
Data collection using sample surveys 
Improvement of milk and milk product statistics 

2004 Phase II 

Pilot survey on fruit tree plantations 
Improvement of statistics on poultry meat 
Improvement of statistics on areas of secondary vegetable production 
Administrative sources for cattle and buffaloes 

Statistics on fruit production 

CZ:  Monthly dairy statistics 
CZ: 
DK:  Use of bovine register for livestock statistics 
DE:  Use of bovine register for cattle population 
EE:  Monthly dairy statistics 
EE: 
IT: 
IT: 
IT: 
LV:  Dairy statistics 
LV:  Statistics on the production of fruit and vegetables 
LT:  Monthly dairy statistics 
LT: 
HU:  Monthly statistics on milk products 
HU:  Pilot survey on the production of vegetables 
MT:  Milk of small ruminants 
MT:  Statistics on the production of fruit and vegetables 
Administrative sources in livestock statistics 
SI: 
SK:  Monthly statistics on milk products 

Statistics on the production of vegetables 

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Statistics on the production of fruit and vegetables 

SK: 
. 
Environmental aspects of agricultural accounting 
. 
This action continues those undertaken under the previous plans (see Second Progress Report, 
COM(2002) 79). It was pursued in the annual plan for 2003: 

2003 

BE:  Environmental aspects of economic accounts for agriculture 

. 

Agri-environmental indicators 

These  actions  continue  those  undertaken  under  the  previous  plans  (see  Second  Progress 
Report, COM(2002) 79). They were pursued in the annual plans for 2003 and 2004 (Phase I), 
and covered the following twenty-six actions: 

2003 

BE:  Development of agri-environmental indicators 
DK:  Correlation between variables in the first pesticide use survey 
DE:  Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes 
DE:  Organic fertiliser 
ES:  Development of soil indicators 
Analysis of data requirements and availability for agri-environmental indicators 
IT: 
IT: 
Pesticide and fertiliser use in orchards 
NL:  Use of renewable energy in agriculture 
NL:  Organic farming and the market, price of organic products 
NL:  Collection and analysis of pesticide use statistics 
AT:  Harmonisation of AEIs and SDIs 
AT:  Collection and evaluation of pesticide use statistics in agriculture and forestry 
FI: 
SE:  Agricultural energy consumption 
SE:  Agricultural diversification 
SE:  Agricultural marginalisation 
SE:  Agricultural land in protected areas 
SE:  Development of statistics on quantities of active substances used on different crops 

Development of an AEI statistical system 

2004 Phase I 

Investigation of the apparent mismatch of pesticide use data with total sales data 

BE:  Agri-environmental indicators Nos 9, 10 and 11 
DK:  Survey on sources of energy use in the agricultural sector 
DK: 
DE:  Agri-environmental indicators Nos 26 and 28 
DE:  Management of fertiliser application 
DE:  Use of pesticides in wine-growing 
IT: 
UK:  Development and validation of an indicator of improvement in agricultural practice 

Improved statistics on food pesticide residues 

Rural development 

These  actions  continue  those  undertaken  under  the  previous  plans  (see  Second  Progress 
Report, COM(2002) 79). They were pursued in the annual plans for 2003 and 2004 (Phase I), 
continued in the plans for 2006 and 2007, and covered the following thirty-two actions: 

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2003 

BE:  Activities of undertakings with reduced agricultural output 
DE:  Methodological aspects of multifunctionality 
DE:  Economic accounts for forestry 
IT:  Multifunctionality of agricultural holdings 
NL:  Rural development, recreation in agricultural holdings 
AT:  Regional accounts for agriculture 
PT:  Rural development indicators 
Creation of a rural development statistical database 
FI: 
UK:  Study of rural development and agricultural activity 

2004 Phase I 

Improvement of the territorial breakdown of data 
Sources and methods for the acquisition of data on intermediate consumption 

BE: 
ES: 
ES:  Consumption of animal feedingstuffs by livestock 
NL: 
NL:  Rural nature and landscape conservation by farmers 
Improved division into rural and urban areas 
SE: 
Improvement of FADN concerning rural development 
SE: 

Importance of agri-tourism 

2006 

BE:  Competitiveness indicators and agri-environmental indicators 
DE:  Evaluation of measures of axes 1 and 2 of the revised RD regulation 
HU:  Developing new indicators 
AT:  Description of rural areas and their development: geodata infrastructure 

2007 

BE:  Nutrient balance for nitrogen 
DK:  Nutrient balances at regional level 
DK:  Estimation of prices of agricultural land 
DE:  Assessment of unutilised forest growth 
DE:  Scale-dependent nutrient balances 
EE:  Nutrient balances 
IT: 
HU:  National and regional nitrogen and phosphorus balances 
MT:  National and regional nitrogen balance 
NL:  Regional mineral balances 
SE:  Regional nutrient balances, Eurostat/OECD method 
UK:  Regional nutrient balances, soil estimates 

Rural areas and Internet access 

Statistics on the structure of farms 

These actions were limited to the 2004 plan (Phase II) and covered the following four actions: 

2004 Phase II 

Processing and validation of the individual data from the 2003 survey 

EE: 
PL:  Development of the "2002" standard gross margins 
SI: 
Development of the "2000" standard gross margins 
SK:  Development of the "2002" standard gross margins 

Farm statistical registers 

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These actions began with the 2005 plan, were continued in 2006, and covered the following 
fourteen actions: 

2005 

Integration of the farm business register into the national business register and CAP 
Survey of changes in the activity of holdings after the agricultural census 2001 
Setting up of the farm statistical register and updating of methodologies 

CZ:  Updating of the farm register from administrative data sources 
DE: 
EE: 
IT: 
CY:  Farm register updating 
LV: 
AT:  New conception of a holding and business register for agriculture and forestry 
PL:  Updating of farm register 
PT:  Updating the agricultural sample base 
SK: 
UK:  Farm statistical register development and maintenance 

Improvement of the quality of the statistical farm register 

Improvement and updating of the farm statistical register 

2006 

NL:  Connecting the farm register to the business register 
FI: 
SE:  Comparison between the business register and the farm register 

Coordination of the agricultural and horticultural registers with the business register 

Surveys of small farms (small units surveys) 

These actions began with the 2005 plan, were continued in 2006, and covered the following 
six actions: 

2005 

Improvement of statistics on small statistical units 

LV:  Sample survey of small units 
LT: 
HU:  Small units in agriculture 
SI: 
SK: 

Coverage of small statistical units in agriculture 
Small units survey 

2006 

DK:  Small agricultural units 

Organic farming 

This field was introduced with the 2007 plan, and the following fifteen actions are planned: 

2007 

Production, processing, consumption, balance sheet for organic products 

Integration and evaluation of organic production data from various sources 

BE: 
DK:  Organic animal production 
DK:  Direct sale of organic crop production 
DK:  Estimation of organic crop production 
EE:  Organic production of products of animal origin 
GR: 
IT:  Wholesale prices of organic products 
Consumer prices of organic products 
IT: 
IT: 
Structure, activities, agricultural practices of organic farming, multi-domain context 
LV:  Collection system on organic farming 
LT:  Organic production of agricultural products 
HU:  Organic production, trade and consumption 

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SK:  Growing of organic products; manufacture, sales and utilisation of organic products 
FI: 
SE:  Data on organic products 

Organic cereals in the food chain 

EN 

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