1.1. Contact organisation
[IE1] Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland)
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Agricultural Accounts and Production Section
1.3. Contact name
Restricted from publication
1.4. Contact person function
Restricted from publication
1.5. Contact mail address
Central Statistics Office,
Skehard Road,
Cork,
T12 X00E
Ireland
1.6. Contact email address
Restricted from publication
1.7. Contact phone number
Restricted from publication
1.8. Contact fax number
Restricted from publication
2.1. Metadata last certified
10 August 2026
2.2. Metadata last posted
10 August 2026
2.3. Metadata last update
10 August 2026
3.1. Data description
The Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) provide an overview of the agricultural activities in a systematic and comparable way to serve as basis for analyses, forecasts and political measures. The methodology is laid down in Annex I of the Regulation (EC) 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The EAA methodological manual provides further details and clarifications (website).
3.2. Classification system
The EAA are a satellite account of the European System of Accounts (ESA), therefore EAA constitute 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 that are detailed in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
3.3. Coverage - sector
The sector covers all units involved in agricultural production, even if some of those units have other more important economic activities even if the purpose of these activities is not commercial. However, kitchen gardens (producing for own-consumption only) are not included.
The list of agricultural activities covered by EAA corresponds to the seven groups of Division 01 of NACE Rev 2 activities (01.1 to 01.7), with the following caveats/differences:
- inclusion of the production of wine and olive oil (exclusively using grapes and olives grown by the same holding),
- 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
The EAA are a satellite account of the 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 accounts:
- the production account (its balancing item: value added)
- the generation-of-income account (its balancing item: operating surplus).
Nevertheless EAA contains other accounts (of the ESA) at least partly:
- 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 of the agricultural sector: these include output, intermediate consumption, gross and net value added, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), both at current prices and at reference year 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 at current prices. (see for more details points 1.40-1.48 in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 138/2004.)
Three income indicators are defined in the EAA:
- Index of the real income of factors in agriculture per annual work unit (indicator A).
- Index of real net agricultural entrepreneurial income per unpaid annual work unit (indicator B).
- Net entrepreneurial income of agriculture (indicator C).
See for more details chapter 5 in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 138/2004.
3.4.1. Components of the Production account : Output
Agricultural output is the total of the agricultural products and the goods and services produced in inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities 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, i.e. when produced and not when paid by the purchaser.
In the compilation of the EAA, output is progressively broken down in quantity terms (see point 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.
The components of output in the production account are detailed in ANNEX II of the Regulation (EC) 138/2004. The other categories are wider, defined by the countries according to their special characteristics. The table below covers the list of products included under ‘other’ categories.
| List of 'Other products' | Items |
|---|---|
| Other cereals except wheat and spelt, rye and meslin, barley, oats and summer cereals mixture, grain maize, rice | None significant. |
| Other oleaginous products except Rape and turnip rape seed, Sunflower, Soya | None. |
| Other industrial crops: others than Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (including seeds), Protein crops (including seeds), Raw tobacco, Sugarbeet, Fibre plants, Hops | None significant. |
| Other forage plants except Fodder maize, Fodder root crops (including forage beet) | Hay, Silage, Straw and Peas & Beans used for Forage. |
| Other fresh vegetables except Cauliflower, Tomatoes | Lettuces, mushrooms, celery, cucumbers, cabbage, onions, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, swedes, rhubarb, broccoli, leeks, other protected vegetables and other field vegetables. |
| Other fresh fruit, except apples, pears, peaches | Strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries, 'Other fresh and processed fruit' |
| Fiber plants | None significant. |
| Other crop products: Others: not elsewhere classified | None. |
| Other animals Other than cattle, pigs, equines, sheep and goats, poultry | None significant. |
| Other animal products: others than milk, eggs, raw wool, silkworm cocoons | Honey. |
| Processing of agricultural products: | Items |
| Other animal products other than milk | None |
| Other inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities (goods and services) Other than Processing of agricultural products | No other significant activities. |
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, the consumption of which 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 excludes 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.
The components of intermediate consumption in the production account are detailed in ANNEX II of the Regulation (EC) 138/2004. The other categories are wider, defined by the countries according to their special characteristics. The table below only covers the list of products included under ‘other’ categories.
| List of 'Other products' | Items |
|---|---|
| Energy; lubricants other than electricity, gas, other fuels and propellants | This item includes machine oil, diesel, gas and other lubricants. |
| Other goods and services other than listed under 2.108 in the Reg. | Telephone, postal and internet services; insurance costs, artificial insemination, research, advisory and training fees, fees for agricultural associations (producer protection) and all other miscellaneous expenses. |
3.4.3. Components of the Generation of income account
In the generation of income account, the distributive transactions relate to other taxes on production, other subsidies on production and the compensation of employees.
The components of the generation of income account are detailed in ANNEX II of the Regulation (EC) 138/2004.
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).
The components of the entrepreneurial income account are detailed in ANNEX II of the Regulation (EC) 138/2004.
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.
The elements of the capital account are detailed in ANNEX II of the Regulation (EC) 138/2004.
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit is the local kind of activity unit.
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, institutional units are broken-down into smaller and more homogeneous units with regard to the kind of production (local kind-of-activity units/local KAUs) (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 is 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 is the local KAU most appropriate to the agricultural industry. However, 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 and the information required according to the explanations above is available. The adoption of the agricultural holding as the local KAU of the agricultural industry in the national accounts (NA) and EAA is based on a statistical approach.
The speciality and the aim of EAA is to cover all agricultural activity carried out by an agricultural holding or any other local KAU not having agriculture as its main activity.
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 are only included if they cannot be separated from its agricultural activities.
3.6. Statistical population
The agricultural industry includes all local KAUs at local level which perform the economic activities, as principal or secondary activity corresponds to Division 01 in NACE Rev. 2 (cf. 1.60 to 1.66 of EAA Reg.)
3.7. Reference area
The entire territory of the country.
3.8. Coverage - Time
From the reference year 1990 to present
3.9. Base period
Accounts for year n are calculated of the base period is year n-1. Data are derived by chain linking at prices of year 2020 (and at any other reference year prices).
EAA data at current prices and at prices for the preceding year are given in millions of units of national currency.
Agricultural labour input data are given in thousand annual work units (AWU).
2023 calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
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 by Commission delegated Regulation (EU) No 2019/280 of 3 December 2018. Transmission of data for the regional EAA (REAA) at NUTS 2 level became obligatory in September 2023. Before September 2023, Eurostat collected REAA data on a voluntary basis.
National legislation: None
6.1.1. Responsible institution for compilation of EAA
The Central Statistics Office is responsible for compiling the EAA using unit values compiled by that office together with some data from our Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Teagasc, a State agency responsible for providing research, advice and education in agriculture, horticulture, food and rural development.
6.1.2. Responsible institution for compilation of Agricultural Income Index
Central Statistics Office
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Two memoranda of understandings exist between the CSO and our two main providers of the data used in the compilation of the EAAs.
They are as follows:
- A memorandum of understanding between CSO and Teagasc.
- A memorandum of understanding between CSO and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Copies of these memorandums can be found at the following links:
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society. The European Statistics Code of Practice provides conditions that have to be respected by statistical offices in regard to statistical confidentiality (Principle 5).
All data collected for the purpose of the EAAs is macro data that is securely collected, stored and processed. All data is treated as strictly confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes. Steps are taken to ensure confidentiality is protected at all stages of data collection, storage, processing and dissemination. This includes the use of secure servers for the exchange of confidential information, stringent security controls on CSO computer networks and data anonymisation. Access to stored data is based on business needs, is strictly controlled and password protected. EAA results are published in tabular form and are subject to stringent primary and secondary disclosure rules. Confidential data is deleted when no longer required for statistical production.
The Statistics Act 1993 requires the CSO to treat all individual information relating to persons or concerns as strictly confidential. It requires that all collected data can only be used for statistical purposes. Staff appointed to the CSO are made fully aware of their obligations in relation to confidentiality and data security. They must sign a Declaration of Secrecy as specified in the Statistics Act 1993. Anyone who fails to adhere to this is guilty of an offence and liable to severe penalties in the event of a misuse of information collected by the CSO. A copy of the Act can be found at the following link:
Detailed information on the CSO's confidentiality policy and code of practice can be found at the following link:
Statistical Confidentiality - CSO - Central Statistics Office
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Not applicable.
7.2.1. Confidentiality rules applied to microdata
Not applicable.
7.2.2. Comments on the amount of data affected by embargo
Not applicable.
8.1. Release calendar
The CSO has two release calendars, one internal, which is available to staff only, the other available to the public on the CSO's website. The internal calendar is completed a minimum of one year in advance and helps with the scheduling and coordination of existing and new releases office wide.
There are pre-agreed time frames for the publication of the EAAs on the CSO website. The agreed timeframe for the publication of these releases, titled 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture Advance/Preliminary/Final Estimates' are as follows:
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Advance Estimate': Due for publication on our website in December, at T-3 weeks.
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Preliminary Estimate': Due for publication in March, at T+11 weeks.
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Final Estimate': Due for publication in June at T+26 weeks.
All 3 releases are pre-announced on the publicly available release calendar no later than at 12 noon on the Thursday of the week prior to publication. The data is then published on our website at 11am on weekdays, at which time it becomes publicly available, free of charge to all.
8.2. Release calendar access
A release calendar, which is updated regularly, is freely available to the public at the following link:
Release Calendar - CSO - Central Statistics Office
8.3. Release policy - user access
The CSO follows the principles contained in the European Statistics Code of Practice, including Principle 6 on objectivity and impartiality.
All of our 3 releases are pre-announced on the publicly available release calendar no later than at 12 noon on the Thursday of the week prior to publication. The data is then published on our website at 11am on weekdays at which time it becomes publicly available to all users, free of charge. See below link for full details of the CSO's dissemination policy.
CSO Dissemination Policy - CSO - Central Statistics Office
The CSO recognises that in very limited circumstances, pre-release access may be justified. Subject to the prescribed formal application procedure being followed and approved by the CSO's Director General, pre-release access may be granted at 10:00am on the morning of the release to named officials. Pre-release access to the three 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture' releases is granted to a named official in our Ministry of Agriculture, the 'Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine' (DAFM). Full details of the CSO's pre-release access policy is contained in the following link:
There are three publications, corresponding to the EAA first, second and final estimates. The timeframe for their release on the CSO website is as follows:
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Advance Estimate': Due for publication on the CSO website in December, at T-3 weeks.
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Preliminary Estimate': Due for publication in March, at T+11 weeks.
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Final Estimate': Due for publication in June, at T+26 weeks.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Not available.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
All three annual EAA estimates are published on the CSO's website as follows:
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Advance Estimate 2023': Published 7th December 2023
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Preliminary Estimate 2023': Published 11th March 2024.
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Final Estimate 2023': Published 29th Aug 2024. Due to exceptional circumstances encountered by one of our main data providers, there was a considerable delay in the receipt of their data. As a result, the publication of the 2023 final estimates occurred on August 29th 2024.
A link to the releases is below: Output Input and Income in Agriculture - CSO - Central Statistics Office
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
Please find below a link to the 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture' tables on the CSO database:
Agricultural Output, Input and Income - CSO
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not applicable.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Restricted from publication
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not applicable.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Summary information on the methodology used to produce our domestic release is publicly available at the following link:
Methodology - CSO - Central Statistics Office
Background notes are available here:
Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - CSO - Central Statistics Office
Details of the source data used to compile the release are available here:
Microsoft Word - Methodology and Data Sources_EAA 03 December 2024
A link to our latest 'Single Integrated Metadata Report for Output, Input and Income in Agriculture and Regional Accounts for Agriculture' can be found at the following link:
Quality Report for Economic Accounts for Agriculture.
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
The quality indicator for metadata completeness: 1.000
[The indicator shows the ratio of metadata replies provided by country per metadata required.]
10.6.2. Further methodological guidelines available at national level
In addition to the previous listed publicly available documentation on methodology, there are also numerous other documents outlining the methodology used to produce each variable required for the EAAs. Detailed process maps outlining the flow and timing of the work required to produce the EAAs, with links to manuals, file locations and the SAS programs used to process data are available for internal use and are reviewed annually.
There are also detailed manuals for each variable required for the EAAs. These step by step guides include templates for raw data, snapshots of files, details on when raw data is available, timelines for requesting the raw data, contact details for source data, location of files and SAS programs used to process/extract raw data, where and how raw data is entered into the files, the order in which the file can be processed, the processing required to create the output variables and the validation and consistency checks to be performed on these variables.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
In additional to the publicly available documents on the methodology used for the EAAs, there are also very detailed internal operation manuals that cover every aspect of the production of our EAA estimates. These are step by step guides that cover everything required for producing our statistics. For example, each manual includes a list of the inputs required to generate each of the variables required for the EAA, when these inputs are available, the contact details of the data provider, templates for the raw data, the processing required for each set of EAA estimates, the validation and consistency checks to be run and the outputs generated.
Very detailed process maps are also available that map each step to producing the EAAs, including links to databases, SAS programs used to source and process data, the detailed manuals mentioned above etc.
See the following link for further information:
Out and Income in Agriculture - CSO - Central Statistics Office
11.1. Quality assurance
The CSO has invested significant resources to assure and enhance the integrity and quality of its outputs. This is reflected in corporate documentation, business plans and the Role Profile Forms of individual staff.
The CSO has a Quality Management, Support and Assurance (QMSA) division who are responsible for the development and implementation of the CSO’s Quality Management Framework (QMF). The overall goal of the QMF is to meet the required standard as set out in the European Statistical System Code of Practice (ESCOP) and the QMF foundations are based on establishing the UNECE’s Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) as the operating statistical production model in the CSO.
With support from staff in the QMSA division, the GSBPM has been introduction for the EAAs and there has been a strong focus on improving and standardising our EAA documentation. Detailed process maps were created and these are reviewed annually. Significant resources have also been deployed in the development of process metrics and indicators. The CSO has also introduced a Quality Review System and numerous data and process governance initiatives and data management and governance support tools.
Further details on the CSO's Quality Management Framework can be found at the following link:
Quality Management Framework - CSO - Central Statistics Office
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Restricted from publication
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The main users are Eurostat, Teagasc, DAFM, researchers, farmer representative bodies and the media. The way they use the EAA data depends on the needs of their users. For example, DAFM use the data to both benchmark and evaluate agricultural policy; researchers use the data to suggest developments in food and farm polices; the media uses it to inform their audience on farm incomes and expenditure, while farmer representative bodies use the EAAs to advocate on behalf of farmers.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
We have a good working relationship with all our main users. We are in regular communication with them and also hold a formal annual meeting with all of our main national users. Based on their feedback, they are satisfied with our outputs as they meet their current needs.
12.3. Completeness
See 12.3.1
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
The quality indicator for data completeness shows the following for the reference year 2023 in the detailed EAA: 0.996 (the following item is missing: AM206011 Feedingstuffs supplied by other agricultural holdings).
[The indicator shows the ratio of data provided per data required, excluding derogations]
13.1. Accuracy - overall
To describe accuracy, the country uses the quality and performance indicator called ‘data revision – average absolute size’ under point 17.2.1 of this document.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3.1. Coverage error
Not applicable.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not applicable.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not applicable.
13.3.3. Non response error
Not applicable.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.4. Processing error
Not applicable.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
EAA presents data for year n at 1st Estimates and 2nd Estimates and for years n-1, n-2 and n-3 at transmission of definitive data.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
See 14.1
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Not applicable.
14.2. Punctuality
Data transmission meets the dates given by Reg. 138/2004.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
The quality indicator of punctuality delivered and publication, shows the following for the reference year 2023:
[The indicator shows the time lag of data delivery to Eurostat and the deadline of the transmission. In case data delivered earlier the indicator shows negative value.]
- First estimates: 0
- Second estimates: -12
- Detailed EAA: -5
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The results of EAA are comparable between regions and countries.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
On the whole, the results are comparable over time although there may be some minor breaks in the series due to changes in the base year resulting from changes in the baskets of goods used by Agriculture Prices or changes to data sources/methodology used for compiling individual estimates.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
The length of the comparable time series extends from 1990 to the present, ensuring consistency in measurement and methodology.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
There is full coherence between the EAAs and the regional economic accounts for agriculture (REAAs). The only other producer of data on farm incomes and expenditure is Teagasc, which publishes its results under the National Farm Survey (NFS). When allowances are made for the different coverage (the NFS excludes small farms defined as farms with a standard output of less than €8,000 as well as all pig and poultry farms), comparative analysis shows that the results correlate well.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Quarterly estimates of EAAs produced for National Accounts are fully coherent with our annual estimates.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
The EAA data is used by National Accounts for their estimates and other than those described in Annex 1 of Regulation (EC) 138/2004 there is full coherence between the EAAs and National Accounts.
15.4. Coherence - internal
There is full internal coherence.
As no survey is issued specifically for the production of the EAAs, no estimates are made of the cost and burden of producing this output.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The revision policy is aimed at ensuring the transparency of disseminated data. Chapter 8 of the EAA manual provides guidelines for a harmonised revision policy for the EAAs, including the ALI data.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Revisions to agricultural price data occur with each rebase. The last rebase was for 2020, with revisions published alongside the Final 2022 EAA estimates on the CSO website in June 2023. The next price rebase will be for 2025, with revisions expected to be available with the Final 2027 EAA estimates.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Average of absolute revision is the average of absolute revisions for the years referring between the current quality (2023) and the 5-years' earlier.
| Indicator A | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Mean absolute revision (5 reference years) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st estimate | EAA | 1st estimate | EAA | 1st estimate | EAA | 1st estimate | EAA | 1st estimate | EAA | ||
| Ireland | 102.86 | 100.56 | 111.77 | 111.86 | 116.42 | 115.21 | 113.90 | 116.70 | 69.72 | 65.43 | 2.14 |
17.2.2. Years where retropolations are carried out and (if they are not yet available) when they will be available
Not applicable.
17.2.3. Details of retropolation method used : items for which estimations are made and assumptions on which these estimations are based
Not applicable.
18.1. Source data
Please see Annex 1.
Annexes:
Data Sources
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual
18.2.1. Time of the year where the updates of the EAA are carried out
Not applicable.
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 )
Not applicable.
18.3. Data collection
Where relevant, requests for data are issued by email and, in the event of non-response, second and third emails will issue. If these emails fail to elicit a response, the data provider is contacted by telephone.
All confidential data is securely transmitted to the compilers of the EAA. Much of the data required for producing the EAAs is available internally within the CSO (e.g. prices data, livestock numbers, trade data, areas under crops etc), and this data is collected either by using IT systems to directly access the databases where the source data is stored, or by the custodians of the required data transferring it to the secure internal mailbox that can only be accessed by authorised staff. Some of the required data is readily available on public websites and this is just downloaded for use in the production of the EAAs (e.g. Central Bank of Ireland data on outstanding loans to the agricultural sector). Further data is already collected by the EAA producers as part of the production process for other outputs which they are responsible for, e.g. data on meat production. Some non-confidential data is transferred to the CSO using the EAA secure mailbox. For smaller volumes of data, e.g. when just one figure is required from the provider, this may sometimes be collected by phone.
18.4. Data validation
The EAAs are processed using excel spreadsheets. The first checks are to ensure that when creating new worksheets for the estimates, all formulas are correctly copied and amended as necessary.
Detailed validation checks are done on both the disaggregated and aggregated data. When source data are received, they are entered into the data collection repository. The accuracy of the data entry is then manually checked for any data entry errors. Once the data entry has passed the initial validation checks, a year-on-year comparative analysis of the source data is performed. Any unexplained significant changes in the source data are queried with the data provider, and the source data is then either amended, or the explanations for the changes are noted.
If source data is not available at the time of preparing EAA estimates, missing values are imputed for. The calculation of these values is checked for consistency with previous years' data and for internal consistency with any other available data that may be correlated to the missing data.
Once the source/imputed data are validated, the data is processed, aggregates are created and then an analysis of these aggregates is undertaken. This analysis includes a year-on-year analysis of the changes in individual output values and their constituent price and volume indices. The results of this analysis may lead to further investigation, such as querying the validity of the source data if this was not previously done, rechecking formulas used in the processing of the data, consulting with industry experts etc. The conclusion of this analysis may necessitate changes to original estimates/source data, which in turn means that the whole validation process recommences from the data entry stage.
18.5. Data compilation
See information in the following sub-concepts.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not applicable.
18.5.2. Calculation procedures
Please see the Calculation procedure for 1st estimates, 2nd estimates and full set of EAA in Annex 2, Methods for valuing EAA items.
Annexes:
Annex 2
18.5.3. Estimations
See information in the following sub-concepts
18.5.3.1. Components of the Production account : Output
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.5.3.2. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.5.3.3. Components of the Generation of income account
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.5.3.4. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.5.3.5. Elements of the Capital account
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.5.4. Numerical example
Please see Annex 3 Numerical examples.
Annexes:
Annex 3 Numerical Examples
18.5.5. Calculation of non-deductible VAT
Not Relevant.
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:
See example in 'Annex 3', tabs 'Other taxes on production' and 'Other subsidies on production' for an example of how the VAT over/under compensation is calculated and its subsequent treatment in the calculation of 'Other taxes on Production' and 'Other subsidies on production'
18.6. Adjustment
See information in the following sub-concepts.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
18.6.2. Components of the Production account : Output
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.6.3. Components of the Production account : Intermediate consumption
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.6.4. Components of the Generation of income account
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.6.5. Components of the Entrepreneurial income account
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
18.6.6. Elements of the Capital account
See details in Annex 2 and numerical examples in Annex 3.
The Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) provide an overview of the agricultural activities in a systematic and comparable way to serve as basis for analyses, forecasts and political measures. The methodology is laid down in Annex I of the Regulation (EC) 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The EAA methodological manual provides further details and clarifications (website).
10 August 2026
The EAA are a satellite account of the 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 accounts:
- the production account (its balancing item: value added)
- the generation-of-income account (its balancing item: operating surplus).
Nevertheless EAA contains other accounts (of the ESA) at least partly:
- 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 of the agricultural sector: these include output, intermediate consumption, gross and net value added, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), both at current prices and at reference year 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 at current prices. (see for more details points 1.40-1.48 in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 138/2004.)
Three income indicators are defined in the EAA:
- Index of the real income of factors in agriculture per annual work unit (indicator A).
- Index of real net agricultural entrepreneurial income per unpaid annual work unit (indicator B).
- Net entrepreneurial income of agriculture (indicator C).
See for more details chapter 5 in Annex I of Regulation (EC) 138/2004.
The statistical unit is the local kind of activity unit.
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, institutional units are broken-down into smaller and more homogeneous units with regard to the kind of production (local kind-of-activity units/local KAUs) (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 is 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 is the local KAU most appropriate to the agricultural industry. However, 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 and the information required according to the explanations above is available. The adoption of the agricultural holding as the local KAU of the agricultural industry in the national accounts (NA) and EAA is based on a statistical approach.
The speciality and the aim of EAA is to cover all agricultural activity carried out by an agricultural holding or any other local KAU not having agriculture as its main activity.
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 are only included if they cannot be separated from its agricultural activities.
The agricultural industry includes all local KAUs at local level which perform the economic activities, as principal or secondary activity corresponds to Division 01 in NACE Rev. 2 (cf. 1.60 to 1.66 of EAA Reg.)
The entire territory of the country.
2023 calendar year.
To describe accuracy, the country uses the quality and performance indicator called ‘data revision – average absolute size’ under point 17.2.1 of this document.
EAA data at current prices and at prices for the preceding year are given in millions of units of national currency.
Agricultural labour input data are given in thousand annual work units (AWU).
See information in the following sub-concepts.
Please see Annex 1.
Annexes:
Data Sources
There are three publications, corresponding to the EAA first, second and final estimates. The timeframe for their release on the CSO website is as follows:
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Advance Estimate': Due for publication on the CSO website in December, at T-3 weeks.
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Preliminary Estimate': Due for publication in March, at T+11 weeks.
- 'Output, Input and Income in Agriculture - Final Estimate': Due for publication in June, at T+26 weeks.
EAA presents data for year n at 1st Estimates and 2nd Estimates and for years n-1, n-2 and n-3 at transmission of definitive data.
The results of EAA are comparable between regions and countries.
On the whole, the results are comparable over time although there may be some minor breaks in the series due to changes in the base year resulting from changes in the baskets of goods used by Agriculture Prices or changes to data sources/methodology used for compiling individual estimates.
