E-Census of the Agricultural Census will end on Friday

E-Census or data submission via Internet by persons themselves is carried out in Statistics Estonia’s electronic data transmission environment eSTAT. “If for most of private persons the e-Census came to an end on 10 September already and those who did not submit the data or left the questionnaire uncompleted are visited by interviewers, then legal persons and private persons having joined eSTAT have to submit the data by themselves and they have only 4 days for doing it,“ noted Ms Eve Valdvee, Statistics Estonia’s Project Manager of the Agricultural Census. “They are not visited by interviewers as we have to deal with larger holdings that mostly have the experience of using eSTAT,” said Ms Valdvee. Legal persons who are not yet users of eSTAT have to register as users or they can print the Agricultural Census questionnaire from the website of Statistics Estonia and send the completed questionnaire by post.

“The share of legal persons in Estonian agriculture is very big,” remarked Ms Valdvee. They have nearly half of the utilised agricultural land and 73% of livestock farming at their disposal. At the same time the number of such holdings is small — only 6% of the total number of holdings. “Thus the data of each holding are very important. Most of them are also experienced applicants for ARIB subsidies who should understand the need for the Agricultural Census as the basis for common agricultural policy of the European Union best of all,” she noted and added that still many of them have left the data submission of the Agricultural Census to the last moment. From this week Statistics Estonia has also started sending memos.

For now the Agricultural Census has run smoothly and for the beginning of the week 27% of holdings had been enumerated in e-Census and with the help of interviewers.

The Agricultural Census is conducted for the sixth time in Estonia. The previous Agricultural Censuses were organised in 1919, 1925, 1929, 1939, and after the restoration of independence in 2001. In the European Union countries, Agricultural Censuses are conducted in 2009 and 2010. In the European Union countries, Agricultural Censuses take place every ten years.

Additional information on the 2010 Agricultural Census is available on the Statistics Estonia webpage /uudised/ac2010