1.0 Introduction

1.1 Drivers of the Agriculture Statistics Program Review

The need for the information collected from the CEAG goes well beyond the requirements of the agriculture sector. It is used to respond to a broad spectrum of issues such as health, food security and safety, natural resource use, climate change and crisis management. These interconnections are an important distinguishing feature of the data generated by the agriculture statistics program.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) summarizes the dilemma that Canada and many countries around the world are currently facing with respect to agriculture data collection:

At the same time as governments face pressure to cut costs, they are also being confronted with increasing and more complex demands for data. There has been growing interest in topics such as food security, the environment, farm labour, and special agricultural practices like organic farming. ⁵

To meet these challenges, the Agriculture Division of Statistics Canada continually reviews its program to maintain relevance and efficiency. Through the processes of program performance (biennial and quadrennial review), the consultations with AAFC (as part of the interdepartmental letter of agreement) and the quinquennial CEAG user consultations, changing data requirements are regularly reviewed and reflected in the program.

Nevertheless, there are a number of additional factors that warrant a more extensive review of the entire agriculture statistics program at this time:

• Statistics Canada must review its census programs, including the CEAG, prior to the next cycle.
• Increasing concern regarding the burden placed on producers to provide not only statistical information, but also information for the administration of agricultural programs, warrants a review of the means by which data on the industry are collected. In keeping with the need to reduce response burden is the federal government's launching of the Red Tape Reduction Commission, whose mandate is (in part) "… to get rid of unnecessary intrusions." ⁶
• Statistics Canada is rationalizing and centralizing the way that business surveys will be collected and processed. In preparation for these changes, the review (and subsequent transition) of the agriculture statistics program has been in progress since 2010/2011.⁷
• Additionally, all federal government departments have been tasked with undertaking a strategic review of current programs and processes with a view to gaining efficiencies as part of the federal deficit reduction action plan.
• The Statistics Act includes a provision for cancelling a quinquennial CEAG (in years ending in "6"). Therefore, it needs to be determined whether the 2016 CEAG is necessary, and if so, to establish the requirements for the 2016 CEAG.

As a result of these factors, the Agriculture Division endeavoured to answer 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 burden and costs, while continuing to meet priority data requirements?

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

• A legislative review was conducted.
• Consultations were held with key stakeholders from federal, provincial and territorial governments, municipal and regional land-use planners, agriculture producer organizations and industry representatives, as well as the Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics. A detailed survey was conducted of the Agriculture Division's clients to illuminate data requirements and to narrow down which ones are critical. Workshops were held with the key stakeholders and with Agriculture Division staff.
• Respondent burden within the current program was analyzed. Discussions with the provinces were also held regarding burden placed on agriculture respondents through data collection at the provincial level.
• The current program and its integration with other programs within the Agency were reviewed in depth.
• An international review of other countries' agriculture statistics programs was conducted.

The information gathered from conducting these exercises resulted in the development of several alternative options for the delivery of the agriculture statistics program. The report analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of various options. Strategies are identified for reducing response burden and finding further efficiencies for the delivery of the entire agriculture statistics program while bearing in mind the requirements for agriculture data.

1.2 Structure of the report

The report first presents an overview of the need for agriculture data, particularly in the current state of volatility in the food production industry. Next, a brief summary of the legislative review is presented, followed by an examination of the different applications of the quinquennial CEAG data.

The international review presents agriculture survey programs, CEAGs and agricultural remote-sensing applications in various countries throughout the world. The current Canadian program was examined in light of the information gleaned from the international review, which resulted in the development and evaluation of different options for delivery of the Canadian agriculture statistics program.