Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
The Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) provide detailed information on income from agricultural activity.
The methods are laid down in the Regulation (EC) 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
3.2. Classification system
The EAA are an integral part of the ESA. As such, they are compiled based on NACE Rev.2, the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community. The list of activities which defines the agricultural industry corresponds, in principle, to Division 01 of that classification: Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities. However, some differences exist and they are detailed in Annex 1 of Regulation (EC) 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
3.2.1. Level of detail for compilation of EAA
See the detail below.
3.2.1.1. Components of the Production account : Output
See sheets 3.2.1.1.(a) to 3.2.1.1.(c) in the attached Excel file 'Annex 1 - Components of the Production account - Output' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
3.2.1.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See sheets 3.2.1.2 (a) to 3.2.1.2 (c) in the attached Excel file 'Annex 2 - Components of the Production account - Intermediate consumption' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
3.2.1.3. Components of the Generation of income account
See sheet 3.2.1.3 in the attached Excel file 'Annex 3 - Components of the Generation of income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
3.2.1.4. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See sheet 3.2.1.4 in the attached Excel file 'Annex 4 - Components of the Entrepreneurial income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
3.2.1.5. Components of the Capital account
See sheet 3.2.1.5 in the attached Excel file 'Annex 5 - Elements of the Capital account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
3.3. Coverage - sector
The sector covers all units involved in agricultural production, even if some of those units have more important economic activities or if the purpose of some others is not commercial. However, kitchen gardens (producing for own-consumption only) are not included.
The list of agricultural activities characteristic of the EAA corresponds to the seven groups of Division 01 of NACE Rev 2 activities (01.1 to 01.7), with the following caveats:
- the inclusion of the production of wine and olive oil (exclusively using grapes and olives grown by the same holding),
- the exclusion of certain activities which, in NACE Rev. 2, are considered as agricultural services (e.g. the operation of irrigation systems - only agricultural contract work is taken into account here).
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
A detailed methodology can be found in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 138/2004.
The EAA are satellite accounts of the European System of Accounts (ESA) providing complementary information and concepts adapted to the particular nature of the agricultural industry.
The EAA are shown as a sequence of inter-related accounts. As the EAA are based on the industry concept, the sequence of accounts is limited to the first accounts of the current account:
- the production account and
- the generation-of-income account
whose balancing items are value added and operating surplus, respectively.
Nevertheless, it should be possible to compile other accounts, at least in part, in so far as the relevant flows can be clearly attributed to them. The accounts in question are the following:
- the entrepreneurial income account (one of the current accounts) and
- the capital account (one of the accumulation accounts).
The EAA provide a wide range of indicators on the economic activities in the agricultural sector: these include output, intermediate consumption, gross and net value added, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), both in current prices and in constant prices, as well as compensation of employees, other taxes and subsidies on production, net operating surplus or net mixed income, property income and net entrepreneurial income in current prices.
Three indicators of the economic performance of agriculture are defined in the EAA:
•Indicator A: Index of the real income of factors in agricultural per annual work unit. •Indicator B: Index of real net agricultural entrepreneurial income per unpaid annual work unit. •Indicator C: Net entrepreneurial income of agriculture.
3.4.1. Components of the Production account : Output
Agricultural output is the total of agricultural products and the goods and services produced in inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities created during the accounting period. It is recorded as a resource in the production account and it is valued and recorded at the time it is generated, that is when produced and not when paid by the purchaser.
In the compilation of the EAA, output is progressively broken down in quantity terms (see paragraph 2.037 of Regulation (EC) 138/2004).
Output is valued at the basic price. The basic price is the price receivable by the producers from the purchaser for a unit of a good or service produced, minus any tax (i.e. taxes on products) payable on that unit plus any subsidy (i.e. subsidies on products) receivable on that unit. The basic price excludes any transport charges invoiced separately by the producer. It also excludes holding gains and losses on financial and non-financial assets.
The valuation of output at the basic price makes it necessary to distinguish between taxes (other than VAT) on products and subsidies on products, on the one hand, and other taxes and subsidies on production, on the other.
3.4.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
Intermediate consumption represents the value of all goods and services used as inputs in the production process, excluding fixed assets whose consumption is recorded as fixed capital consumption.
The inputs used for intermediate consumption should be valued at the purchaser prices for similar goods and services applicable at the time of their insertion in the production process. The purchaser price includes taxes less subsidies on products (but excluding deductible taxes like VAT on the products). It also includes any transport charges paid separately by the purchaser to take delivery at the required time and place.
3.4.3. Components of the Generation of income account
In the case of the generation of income account, the distributive transactions relate to other taxes on production, other subsidies on production and the compensation of employees.
For details please see sheet 3.4.3 - Other questions in the attached Excel file 'Annex 3 - Components of the Generation of income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
3.4.4. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
The entrepreneurial income account records certain types of property income (mainly land rents, interest and property income attributed to insurance policy holders).
For details please see sheet 3.4.4 - Other questions in the attached Excel file 'Annex 4 - Components of the Entrepreneurial income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
3.4.5. Elements of the Capital account
In addition to Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), the capital account records distributive transactions corresponding to aid for investment and other capital transfers.
3.5. Statistical unit
The overall unit is the agricultural sector. However, in order to provide more detailed information and to analyse flows generated by the production process and the use of goods and services, it is necessary to select units which emphasise relationships of a technical-economic kind. This means that, as a rule, institutional units must be broken-down into smaller and more homogeneous units with regard to the kind of production (local kind-of-activity units/local KAUs) are intended to meet this requirement (ESA 2010, 2.147).
The local KAU is defined as the part of a KAU which corresponds to a local unit. The institutional unit's information system must be capable of indicating or calculating for each local KAU at least the value of output, intermediate consumption, compensation of employees, the operating surplus and employment and gross fixed capital formation (ESA 2010, 2.148).
The agricultural holding, (the unit currently used for statistical studies of agriculture (censuses, surveys of the structure of agricultural holdings), is the local KAU most appropriate to the agricultural industry (even though certain other units, such as wine or olive oil cooperatives, or units performing contract work, etc., have to be included in it). Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the variety of agricultural activities that can be performed on agricultural holdings makes them a special type of local KAU. The strict application of the ESA rule to units and their group should in fact result in a division of the agricultural holding into several separate local KAUs in cases where several activities of the NACE Rev. 2 four-digit class are performed on the same holding.
3.6. Statistical population
Although the ESA gives pre-eminence to local KAUs, the unit best suited to analyse the production process is the unit of homogeneous production (UHP). This unit is used to analyse inputs and outputs, since it corresponds exactly to a type of activity. Institutional units are thus divided into as many UHPs as there are activities (other than ancillary). By grouping these units of homogeneous production it is possible to break down the economy into 'pure' (homogeneous) branches. A UHP cannot, as a rule, be directly observed. Therefore, the accounts of homogeneous branches cannot be compiled on the basis of groups of UHPs. The ESA describes a method for compiling these accounts.
The use of the local KAU as the basic unit for the agricultural industry entails recording non-agricultural secondary activities where they cannot be distinguished from the main agricultural activity (inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities of local agricultural KAUs) The selection criterion for inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities is rather the type of activity than the nature of the product. For example, agro-tourism services provided by a farm must only be included if they cannot be separated from its agricultural activities.
3.7. Reference area
Denmark
3.8. Coverage - Time
The Danish national EAA is available from 1990-
3.9. Base period
2015
The final EAA results are measured and published in Millions, Danish Krone, basic prices, as required by the EAA regulation.
The valuation of output is mostly calculcated by using both quantities (tonnes or number of animals) and prices. The valuation of the consumption items fertilizers and animal feedingstuffs purchased from outside the agricultural industry are also measuerd by calculating quantities and prices.
Some sale goods are only measured in the values of Millions DKK (04190 Fresh vegetables, 04210 Nursery plants and 04220 Ornamental plants), and agricultural services and secondary activities are also only measured in values.
Accounts data from FADN are all measured in values DKK. This includes the agricultural services, secondary activities, GFCF in machines, buildings and land improvements, as well as all input items, except fertilizers and animal feedingstuffs purchased from outside the agricultural industry.
ALI is measured in thousand annual work units (AWU).
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
EU legislation:
Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 December 2003 on the economic accounts for agriculture in the Community as amended
At a national level, we have one brief guideline to compiling the EAA. It mostly offers an overview and only contains few infos about methodology. It cannot be considered a documentation on methodology.
10.6.1. Further methodological guidelines available at national level
The national Danish EAA (BFI) 2020 was first published in May 2021. 2020 is still open for revisions, next 2020 publication will be May 2023. Usually, two years after, the year N-2 is final, but because 2020 is the new base year, (2020=100), it will be published again when 2020 is the new refrence year.
14.2. Punctuality
DS seldom has lagtime between the deadlines of data delivery and the target date
15.1. Comparability - geographical
To be assessed by Eurostat
15.2. Comparability - over time
Can be compared back to 1990
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Example of other statistics in the area is FADN, which is dealing with the economic results in agriculture at farm level. The Agricultural Account Statistics as such forms the agricultural component of the national accounts, but is further specified.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Only yearly statistics are published.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
The degree of consistency between EAA and the national one (BFI) is high and the results are based upon the same basic data. However there are the following major exceptions from consistence related to the EAA-concept:
- The agricultural sector related to the BFI does not include agricultural contract operations carried out by "non-farmers"
- The final result in the BFI is "Gross domestic product at factor costs", which are comparable to "Gross value added at basic prices" + "other subsidies" – "other taxes" ".
- Direct subsidies from the CAP-regime are not allocated to the certain crops or animals, and not included in the primary agricultural output. They are added to the "gross value added in producer prices".
15.4. Coherence - internal
High internal coherence
Costs have not been calculated. The direct burden on respondents is very little, as almost all data are collected by means of other statistics.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.
17.2.1. Years where retropolations are carried out and (if they are not yet available) when they will be available
2020 is still based on the index year 2015, untill 2023 when 2020 willl be the new base year. Then, retropolation back to 2020 will take place. Otherwise, retropolation does dot take place
17.2.2. Details of retropolation method used : items for which estimations are made and assumptions on which these estimations are based
The retropolation method follows
18.1. Source data
18.1.1. Data sources used - Components of the Production account : Output
See sheet 18.1.1 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 1 - Components of the Production account - Output' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.1.2. Data sources used - Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
For detailed explanations on data sources used, please see remarks under concept 18.1.3.
18.1.3. Data sources used - Individual intermediate consumption items
See sheet 18.1.3 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 2 - Components of the Production account - Intermediate consumption' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.1.4. Data sources used - Components of the Generation of the income account
See sheet 18.1.4 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 3 - Components of the Generation of income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.1.5. Data sources used - Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See sheet 18.1.5 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 4 - Components of the Entrepreneurial income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.1.6. Data sources used – Elements of the Capital account
See sheets 18.1.6 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 5 - Elements of the Capital account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Semi-annual and annual
18.2.1. Time of the year where the updates of the EAA are carried out
August-September and again in November, when FADN year N-1 is published.
18.2.2. Years covered by each of these updates (i.e. update in September of year n for the years n-1, n-2, n-3 )
Year n-1, n-2 and n-3
18.3. Data collection
Censuses: Stock of grain at traders, Milling of grain statistics, International trade in goods from countries outside the EU, The cattle survey, The slaughterings statistics, The milk statistics
Sample surveys: Harvest of cereals etc., Stock of grain at farms, Price statistics, Agricultural and horticultural survey, FADN, International trade in goods from countries in the EU, The pigs survey
Administrative sources: Danish Horticultere, Hectares on seeds and planting stock, Subsidies, The production of milk, The production of eggs, The slaughterings statistics
Contact med experts etc.
18.4. Data validation
Source data are checked and trouble-shooted early on in the data collecting process, and then validated later when all data are collected. In the period while EAA is being compiled, data are checked again, if necessary.
18.5.1.1. Components of the Production account - Output
See sheet 18.5.1.1 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 1 - Components of the Production account - Output' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
See also Excel file 'Annex 6 - Calculation methods output'.
18.5.1.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See sheet 18.5.1.2 (a) and 18.5.1.2 (b) of the attached Excel file 'Annex 2 - Components of the Production account - Intermediate consumption' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.1.3. Components of the Generation of income account
See sheet 18.5.1.3 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 3 - Components of the Generation of income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.1.4. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See sheet 18.5.1.4 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 4 - Components of the Entrepreneurial income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.1.5. Elements of the Capital account
See sheets 18.5.1.5 'Annex 5 - Elements of the Capital account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.2. Estimations
18.5.2.1. Components of the Production account : Output
See sheets 18.5.2.1 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 1 - Components of the Production account - Output' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.2.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See sheet 18.5.2.2 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 2 - Components of the Production account - Intermediate consumption' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.2.3. Components of the Generation of income account
See sheet 18.5.2.3 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 3 - Components of the Generation of income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.2.4. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See sheet 18.5.2.4 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 4 - Components of the Entrepreneurial income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.2.5. Elements of the Capital account
See sheet 18.5.2.5 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 5 - Elements of the Capital account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.3. Numerical example
18.5.3.1. Components of the Production account : Output
See the attached Excel file 'Annex 7 - Numerical examples' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.3.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See the attached Excel file 'Annex 7 - Numerical examples' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.3.3. Components of the Generation of income account
See the attached Excel file 'Annex 7 - Numerical examples' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.3.4. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See the attached Excel file 'Annex 7 - Numerical examples' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.3.5. Elements of the Capital account
See the attached Excel file 'Annex 7 - Numerical examples' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.4. Provisional and semi-definitive accounts and agricultural income index vs. definitive accounts
18.5.4.1. Components of the Production account : Output
See sheet 18.5.4.1 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 1 - Components of the Production account - Output' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.4.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See sheet 18.5.4.2 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 2 - Components of the Production account - Intermediate consumption' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.5. Calculation of non-deductible VAT
See sheet 18.5.5 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 2 - Components of the Production account - Intermediate consumption' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.5.6. Calculation of compensation of VAT
Calculation of compensation of VAT on Other taxes on production:
Calculation of compensation of VAT on Other subsidies on production:
18.6. Adjustment
18.6.1. Components of the Production account : Output
See sheet 18.6.1 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 1 - Components of the Production account - Output' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.6.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See sheet 18.6.2 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 2 - Components of the Production account - Intermediate consumption' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.6.3. Components of the Generation of income account
See sheet 18.6.3 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 3 - Components of the Generation of income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.6.4. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See sheet 18.6.4 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 4 - Components of the Entrepreneurial income account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
18.6.5. Elements of the Capital account
See sheet 18.6.5 of the attached Excel file 'Annex 5 - Elements of the capital account' in the section Annexes at the end of the file.
List of abbreviations:
BFI: Landbrugets bruttofaktorindkomst/Gross domestic product at factor cost of the agricultural "industry"
The Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) provide detailed information on income from agricultural activity.
The methods are laid down in the Regulation (EC) 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
11 March 2024
A detailed methodology can be found in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 138/2004.
The EAA are satellite accounts of the European System of Accounts (ESA) providing complementary information and concepts adapted to the particular nature of the agricultural industry.
The EAA are shown as a sequence of inter-related accounts. As the EAA are based on the industry concept, the sequence of accounts is limited to the first accounts of the current account:
- the production account and
- the generation-of-income account
whose balancing items are value added and operating surplus, respectively.
Nevertheless, it should be possible to compile other accounts, at least in part, in so far as the relevant flows can be clearly attributed to them. The accounts in question are the following:
- the entrepreneurial income account (one of the current accounts) and
- the capital account (one of the accumulation accounts).
The EAA provide a wide range of indicators on the economic activities in the agricultural sector: these include output, intermediate consumption, gross and net value added, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), both in current prices and in constant prices, as well as compensation of employees, other taxes and subsidies on production, net operating surplus or net mixed income, property income and net entrepreneurial income in current prices.
Three indicators of the economic performance of agriculture are defined in the EAA:
•Indicator A: Index of the real income of factors in agricultural per annual work unit. •Indicator B: Index of real net agricultural entrepreneurial income per unpaid annual work unit. •Indicator C: Net entrepreneurial income of agriculture.
The overall unit is the agricultural sector. However, in order to provide more detailed information and to analyse flows generated by the production process and the use of goods and services, it is necessary to select units which emphasise relationships of a technical-economic kind. This means that, as a rule, institutional units must be broken-down into smaller and more homogeneous units with regard to the kind of production (local kind-of-activity units/local KAUs) are intended to meet this requirement (ESA 2010, 2.147).
The local KAU is defined as the part of a KAU which corresponds to a local unit. The institutional unit's information system must be capable of indicating or calculating for each local KAU at least the value of output, intermediate consumption, compensation of employees, the operating surplus and employment and gross fixed capital formation (ESA 2010, 2.148).
The agricultural holding, (the unit currently used for statistical studies of agriculture (censuses, surveys of the structure of agricultural holdings), is the local KAU most appropriate to the agricultural industry (even though certain other units, such as wine or olive oil cooperatives, or units performing contract work, etc., have to be included in it). Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the variety of agricultural activities that can be performed on agricultural holdings makes them a special type of local KAU. The strict application of the ESA rule to units and their group should in fact result in a division of the agricultural holding into several separate local KAUs in cases where several activities of the NACE Rev. 2 four-digit class are performed on the same holding.
Although the ESA gives pre-eminence to local KAUs, the unit best suited to analyse the production process is the unit of homogeneous production (UHP). This unit is used to analyse inputs and outputs, since it corresponds exactly to a type of activity. Institutional units are thus divided into as many UHPs as there are activities (other than ancillary). By grouping these units of homogeneous production it is possible to break down the economy into 'pure' (homogeneous) branches. A UHP cannot, as a rule, be directly observed. Therefore, the accounts of homogeneous branches cannot be compiled on the basis of groups of UHPs. The ESA describes a method for compiling these accounts.
The use of the local KAU as the basic unit for the agricultural industry entails recording non-agricultural secondary activities where they cannot be distinguished from the main agricultural activity (inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities of local agricultural KAUs) The selection criterion for inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities is rather the type of activity than the nature of the product. For example, agro-tourism services provided by a farm must only be included if they cannot be separated from its agricultural activities.
Denmark
2020
Not applicable to EAA compilation.
The final EAA results are measured and published in Millions, Danish Krone, basic prices, as required by the EAA regulation.
The valuation of output is mostly calculcated by using both quantities (tonnes or number of animals) and prices. The valuation of the consumption items fertilizers and animal feedingstuffs purchased from outside the agricultural industry are also measuerd by calculating quantities and prices.
Some sale goods are only measured in the values of Millions DKK (04190 Fresh vegetables, 04210 Nursery plants and 04220 Ornamental plants), and agricultural services and secondary activities are also only measured in values.
Accounts data from FADN are all measured in values DKK. This includes the agricultural services, secondary activities, GFCF in machines, buildings and land improvements, as well as all input items, except fertilizers and animal feedingstuffs purchased from outside the agricultural industry.
ALI is measured in thousand annual work units (AWU).
Annual
The national Danish EAA (BFI) 2020 was first published in May 2021. 2020 is still open for revisions, next 2020 publication will be May 2023. Usually, two years after, the year N-2 is final, but because 2020 is the new base year, (2020=100), it will be published again when 2020 is the new refrence year.
