Agriculture Statistics Program Review

Executive summary

The Agriculture Division conducts an extensive statistical program with several highly integrated components comprised of the Census of Agriculture (CEAG), crop and livestock surveys, farm¹ economic statistics, agri-environmental statistics, tax and other administrative data, research and analysis, and remote sensing.

The Agriculture Division reviews its program on a regular basis to maintain relevance. However, at this time, there are a number of additional factors that warrant a more extensive review of the entire agriculture statistics program.

Purpose of the review

The present report responds to the following key questions:

1. Is a CEAG still the best way to meet the data requirements for policy and program purposes? If so, what should its frequency be? More specifically, is a CEAG required in 2016?
2. Given the data requirements for policy purposes, is the CEAG in its current form the most efficient way to gather the information, and are there efficiencies to be gained in the CEAG?
3. How can the agriculture statistics program as a whole be streamlined to reduce response burden² and costs, while continuing to meet priority data requirements?

Process undertaken to conduct the review

To respond to these questions, the Agriculture Division undertook the following activities:

• consultations were conducted with key federal, provincial, municipal, producer organization and industry stakeholders³
• a comprehensive survey was conducted with users of the Division's statistics
• a legislative review was conducted
• consultations were held with Statistics Canada divisions, including the System of National Accounts (SNA), which provided a report on its requirements
• response burden was analyzed
• agriculture statistics programs in other countries were reviewed
• the most appealing features of these programs were evaluated within the Canadian context for the delivery of the Canadian agriculture statistics program.

Results of the review

The review confirmed that Statistics Canada's agriculture statistics program, of which the CEAG is an integral component, continues to fulfill legislative requirements and to serve the needs of several long-standing and diverse clients. At the federal level, these clients include Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Health Canada, Environment Canada, as well as the SNA and Prices Division of Statistics Canada.

At the provincial level, the statistical and policy areas of provincial agricultural departments are the key stakeholders in the agriculture statistics program. Local-level stakeholders largely include municipal and regional land-use planners. Industry stakeholders represent national producer organizations, agribusiness, academia, international agricultural institutions, agriculture producers and dietitians. The program also serves the general public.

The consultations and review regarding the agriculture statistics requirements for program administration and policy making indicate that

1. a traditional quinquennial CEAG is necessary in the short to medium term to obtain the required information⁴
2. some efficiency could be gained and response burden could be reduced with the adoption of a different CEAG model
3. alternative data collection strategies could streamline the current program to reduce burden and yield cost efficiencies.

Further work

Alternative data sources have been identified that hold promise for incorporation into the agriculture statistics program. Further investigation and analysis of these sources is required. High levels of interdepartmental cooperation and support will be necessary to fully exploit these data sources. In addition, further work will be required to increase the incorporation of taxation data, so that detailed revenue and expenses questions could be removed from the CEAG and the Farm Financial Survey (FFS). This work is summarized in Section 6.0 Road Map towards a New Agriculture Statistics Program.

Further analysis of remote sensing technologies, administrative data sources (including further incorporation of taxation data) and survey sample populations is required.

Statistics Canada thanks participants for their participation in this consultation. Their insights guide the Agency’s web development and ensure that the final products meet users’ expectations.