1. European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
Use of Statistics for defining and monitoring the Common Agricultural Policy Pierre Bascou European Commission DG AGRI
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

2. Evolution of the CAP 1/ Productivity Competitiveness Sustainability
The Crisis
Years
The Early
Years
The 1992
Reform
Agenda
2000
Future
Food security
Improving productivity
Market-stabilisation
Income support
Over production
Exploding expenditure
Internat. friction
Reduced surpluses
More competition
Income stabilisation
Budget stabilisation
International competitive-ness
Rural Development
Environment
Quality
Process of a continued adjustment of CAP instruments to new requirements
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

3. CAP reform: a new step towards 2/ a long-term perspective for sustainable agriculture
To enhance the competitiveness of EU agriculture
setting intervention as a real safety net measure
allowing producers to respond to market signals
To promote a more market-oriented, sustainable agriculture
completing the shift from product to producer support (decoupling)
cross-compliance (environmental, food safety & animal welfare)
To provide a better balance of support and strengthen rural development
through modulation & broader scope of rural development measures
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

4. Use of statistics in the CAP 3/1
Statistics played a crucial and increasingly important role in the CAP …
1. Conception
economic and policy analysis (for a better understanding of the current situation and historical development); market, structural and income projections
simulation and test of alternative policy scenarios (on market, economic, financial, structural, budgetary and agri-environmental variables)
conception of rural development policy; analysis and preparation of trade negotiations
enlargement
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

5. Use of statistics in the CAP 3/2
… Statistics played a crucial and increasingly important role in the CAP …
2. Implementation and monitoring
management of markets (in accordance with regulations for the common market organisation)
management of trade agreements
implementation and monitoring of rural development measures
overall monitoring of the impact of the CAP on the socio-structural and economic and financial situation of the agricultural community
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

6. Use of statistics in the CAP 3/3
… Statistics played a crucial and increasingly important role in the CAP
3. Evaluation
ex-post evaluation of policy decisions once implemented on
market developments,
budget,
financial and economic variables,
structure of agricultural holdings
and environmental indicators
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

7. Different types of statistical information 4/
General agricultural statistics
Information for the management of agricultural markets
The “Farm Accountancy Data Network” (RICA)
The “Integrated Administration and Control System” IACS
Other types of information (such as statistics for rural development)
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

8. General agricultural statistics 5/1
“the masterpiece of the information complex for the CAP”
Community Farm Structure Surveys: the backbone of the agricultural statistical system
provision of socio-economic and structural information
about 200 basic statistics, every 2-3 years for the “sufficiently large” agricultural holdings
Production statistics:
annual information on acreage, herd size, yield & production
highly used for market management and balance sheet compilation
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

9. General agricultural statistics 5/2
Economic accounts
satellite accounts of the national accounts, based on “gentleman’s agreement”: retrace economic activities and economic flows in the agricultural sector
information on the place and interactions of the agricultural sector with the rest of the economy, on income developments
Price statistics
monthly and annual information on producer prices (absolute and index forms); based on “gentleman’s agreement”
used for economic analysis
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

10. Information system for market management 6/
Provided on the basis of Community legislation
by Ministries of Agriculture and/or Statistical Institutes which are responsible for organising surveys, data collection, processing and transmission for management of the Common Market Organisations for most of EU agricultural products
It includes the following domains:
Market prices (weekly/monthly)
Provisional balance sheets
Intervention (weekly/monthly quantities, tender procedures)
Trade (weekly/daily export and import prices, weekly quantities for which import/export licences are issued by country of origin/destination, weekly import quotas information)
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

11. Farm Accountancy Data Network 7/
Provided on the basis of Community legislation
for information on the incomes and financial situation of agricultural holdings
covering “commercial farms”, more than farms, I.e. 90% of EU agricultural area
For each farm, information collected concern about 1000 variables on:
Physical and structural data (location, crop areas, livestock numbers, labour force etc.)
Economic and financial data (value of production, stocks, productions costs, assets, liabilities, production quotas, subsidies, taxes etc.)
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

12. Integrated Administration and Control System 8/
Introduced in 1992 to manage EU subsidies
unified declaration procedure, computerised data base, identification system for agricultural land plots and animals, and integrated control arrangements
administrative controls for all dossiers and physical controls by sample
the implementation of this system is considered as part of “acquis communautaire” to be applied by new Member States
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

13. A medium-term perspective for statistical needs 9/
New needs: even if current system is relatively comprehensive for traditional needs, efforts needed to better cover:
the increasing integration of environmental concerns in the CAP and the promotion of sustainable development (changes towards more environmentally-friendly production methods)
the “multifunctional” nature of agricultural holdings (diversification into sectors such as rural tourism, food processing, forestry, landscape management etc.)
the enlargement of the EU to new Member States
Continuous investment in the quality, accuracy and harmonisation of agricultural statistics and its timeliness in some sectors
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General

14. Conclusion: statistics and the CAP 10/
Statistics played a key role in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the CAP. This role is likely to increase overtime
Even if the European system of agricultural statistics satisfies most of the needs of the CAP, it should be consolidated and improved for:
better accuracy, reliability, up-to-dateness and harmonisation;
larger coverage in response to new needs of the CAP
the enlargement of the EU to new Member States constitutes an important challenge
May 2001
European Commission - Directorate General for Agriculture - A2
European Commission - Agriculture Directorate-General