Ministry of Agriculture

Directorate Agriculture and Regional Policy

Agrostatistics Department

55, Blvd. Hristo Botev, Sofia 1040, Bulgaria 

The data describe the structure of agricultural holdings providing the general characteristics of farms and farmers and information on their land, livestock and labour force.  They also describe production methods, rural development measures and agro-environmental aspects that look at the impact of agriculture on the environment.

The data are used by public, researchers, farmers and policy-makers to better understand the state of the farming sector and the impact of agriculture on the environment. The data follow up the changes in the agricultural sector and provide a basis for decision-making in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other European Union policies.

The statistical unit is the agricultural holding (farm). The aggregated results are disseminated through statistical tables. The data are presented at different geographical levels and over periods.
The data collections are organised in line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 and have a new structure, consisting of a core

data set and several modules. The regulation covers the data collections in 2020 (the agricultural census), 2023 and 2026. The data are as comparable and coherent as possible with the other European countries.

The data describe the structure of agricultural holdings providing the general characteristics of farms and farmers and information on their land, livestock and labour force.  They also describe production methods, rural development measures and agro-environmental aspects that look at the impact of agriculture on the environment.

The data are used by public, researchers, farmers and policy-makers to better understand the state of the farming sector and the impact of agriculture on the environment. The data follow up the changes in the agricultural sector and provide a basis for decision-making in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other European Union policies.

The statistical unit is the agricultural holding (farm). The aggregated results are disseminated through statistical tables. The data are presented at different geographical levels and over periods.
The data collections are organised in line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 and have a new structure, consisting of a core

data set and several modules. The regulation covers the data collections in 2019/2020 (the agricultural census), 2023 and 2026. The data are as comparable and coherent as possible with the other European countries.

The statistics cover agricultural holdings undertaking agricultural activities as listed in item 3.5 below and meeting the minimum coverage requirements (thresholds) as listed in item 3.6 below.

The list of core variables is set in Annex III of Regulation (EU) 2018/1091.

The descriptions of the core variables as well as the lists and descriptions of the variables for the modules collected in 2019/2020 are set in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1874.

The following groups of variables are collected in 2020:

• for core: location of the holding, legal personality of the holding, manager, type of tenure of the utilised agricultural area, variables of land, organic farming, irrigation on cultivated outdoor area, variables of livestock, organic production methods applied to animal production;
• for the module "Labour force and other gainful activities": farm management, family labour force, non-family labour force, other gainful activities directly and not directly related to the agricultural holding;
• for the module "Rural development": support received by agricultural holdings through various rural development measures;
• for the module "Animal housing and rural development module":  animal housing, nutrient use and manure on the farm, manure application techniques, facilities for manure.

See sub-category below.

The agricultural holding is a single unit, both technically and economically, that has a single management and that undertakes economic activities in agriculture in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 belonging to groups:

- A.01.1: Growing of non-perennial crops

- A.01.2: Growing of perennial crops

- A.01.3: Plant propagation

- A.01.4: Animal production

- A.01.5: Mixed farming or

- The “maintenance of agricultural land in good agricultural and environmental condition” of group A.01.6 within the economic territory of the Union, either as its primary or secondary activity.

Regarding activities of class A.01.49, only the activities “Raising and breeding of semi-domesticated or other live animals” (with the exception of raising of insects) and “Bee-keeping and production of honey and beeswax” are included.

See sub-categories below.

The thresholds of agricultural holdings are available in the annex.

The same population of agricultural holdings defined in item 3.6.1.

The same population of agricultural holdings defined in item 3.6.2.

Data has been collected and sent concerning farms that have used fertilizers but do not have animals of the above mentioned species.

All holdings were monitored comprehensively and all collected data were sent to Eurostat.

See sub-categories below.

The entire territory of the country.

No

A mixed approach has been chosen to determine the location of the holdings.

Criteria for determining the location of holdings:

If the holding has an agricultural building (livestock building, granary, machinery, etc.), the location of the holding is determined by:

1. The location of the main agricultural building;

If the holding does not have an agricultural building, the location of the holding shall be determined by:

2. The location of the majority of the area of the holding;

3. The location of the most important parcel chosen by physical size;

4. The location of the most important parcel chosen by economic size (arable land, perennials, pastures);

5. The location of the farmer's residence if it is not further than 5 km straight from the farm.

In determining the location of the farms, spatial data was used for the declared area in IACS, by plots.

Farm structure statistics in our country cover the period from 2003 onwards. Older time series are described in the previous quality reports (national methodological reports).

The 2020 data are processed (by Eurostat) with 2017 standard output coefficients (calculated as a 5-year average of the period 2015-2019). For more information, you can consult the definition of the standard output.

Two kinds of units are generally used:

• the units of measurement for the variables (area in hectares, livestock in (1000) heads or LSU (livestock units), labour force in persons or AWU (annual working units), standard output in Euro, places for animal housing etc.) and
• the number of agricultural holdings having these characteristics.

See sub-categories below.

The use of land refers to the reference year 2019/2020. In the case of successive crops from the same piece of land, the land use refers to a crop that is harvested during the reference year, regardless of when the crop in question is sown. The 12-month period ending on 31.08.2020 within the reference year 2020.

The 12-month period ending on 31.08.2020 within the reference year 2020.

The reference day 31.08.2020 within the reference year 2020.

The 12-month period ending on 31.08.2020. This period includes the reference day used for livestock and animal housing.

The 12-month period ending on 31.08.2020 within the reference year 2020.

The three-year period ending on 31 December 2020.

The reference day 31.08.2020 within the reference year 2020.

See sub-categories below.

Law on the Census of Agricultural Holdings in the Republic of Bulgaria in 2020.

https://www.mzh.government.bg/media/filer_public/2019/05/30/zakon_za_prebroqvane_na_zemedelskite_stopanstva_v_republika_bylgariq_prez_2020_g.pdf

15.03.2019

Within the framework of agreements, census data is provided by the Ministry of Agriculture of Eurostat and the NSI of Bulgaria.

Individual data are confidential and are not disseminated as such (affidavits, Law on statistics).

The protection of statistical confidentiality is guaranteed by the Statistics Act, the Law on the Census of Agricultural Holdings in the Republic of Bulgaria.

The census participants fill in affidavits.

See sub-categories below.

See sub-categories below.

Published only aggregated data, not published when there are less than 3 holdings contributing to the value of the indicator or the data of one of the units accounts for over 85% of the published index. Confidential data is replaced by the sign "c", there is a case of aggregation of variables with a low level of distribution for the country.

See sub-categories below.

There are rules for releasing confidential data for the purpose of research and the provision of confidential data is performed according to these rules.

According to Art.26a of the Statistics Act individual and anonymous data may be provided for the purpose of research to universities or legal persons whose main activity is research after permission by the President of the National Statistical Institute.

RULES FOR PROVISION OF ANONYMOUS INDIVIDUAL DATA FOR SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL INSTITUTE

Art. 2. The following users may apply for access to anonymized individual data:

1. universities and other higher education institutions;

2. research organisations and institutions;

3. other agencies, organisations or institutions in which there are separate structural units carrying out research activities;

4. oter legal entities using data for research and analytical purposes;

5. natural persons who, for the purposes of scientific and research work, need anonymized data.

Art. 3. The User and eServices Department at the Multisectoral statistics and user services Department maintain and update a list of users that includes the user name, type of data provided, and date of submission.

Art. 4. The data shall be provided on a technical medium in csv, sav, xls or any other format specified in the application.

.......

Section IV

PROVISION OF ANONYMOUS INDIVIDUAL DATA

Art. 17. When anonymizing the data, the following requirements are met:

1. anonymised individual data cannot be provided if they disobey the provisions of Art. 25;

2. the individual records in the database of the requested survey are processed by competent officers by deleting all identifying individual signs from the data (name, address, publicly accessible identification number, etc.), which directly or indirectly identify a particular statistical unit;

3. in the case of records where these rules are not abided by for certain characteristics, the directorates in whose portfolio the data is prepared shall assess whether they should entirely erase the data, delete the data only in the cells of those characteristics, or take other appropriate solutions to protect individual data.

Art. 18. The following procedures shall be followed when providing data from studies for consecutive periods (years, quarters, etc.):

1. where, in the case of comparative analyzes, it is necessary to provide anonymized data from several consecutive observations, the individual data shall be coded with the same numbers for each unit in the database for the individual periods;

2.under item 1, the information database can be processed with special software products, which prevent the eventual disclosure of the data for the statistical units by means of methods for comparison of the used identification numbers.

Art. 19. In order to assess the risk of revelation of data sets prepared by the user by matching anonymized individual data in combination with external data, they are subject to re-control by the experts in the concerned domain.

Microdata from 2020 census has not been disseminated.

By 31.03.2022 the data has to be transmitted to Eurostat. By 30.06.2022 data has to be published on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture (NSP2022).

https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/18680/basic-page/national-statistical-programme-2021

The information is disseminated by a publication on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, simultaneously for all users. A bilingual hard copy book in Bulgarian and English publishes for the results of the Agricultural Census.

The methodology is described in the EU handbook. 

Integrated farm statistics manual

For census every 10 years, for sample surveys for IFS every 3 years.

Preliminary data 2021

https://www.mzh.government.bg/media/filer_public/2021/05/05/census2020_publicationpreliminarydata.pdf

https://www.agrostat.bg/ISASPublic

Final data 2022.

See sub-categories below.

Not available.

See sub-categories below.

Census of agricultural holdings in 2020 – Preliminary results, Ministry of Agriculture, 2021

https://www.mzh.government.bg/media/filer_public/2021/05/05/census2020_publicationpreliminarydata.pdf

https://www.agrostat.bg/ISASPublic

See sub-categories below.

Not available.

Not applicable.

See sub-category below.

Information on users‘ request.

Not requested.

See sub-categories below.

Not requested.

Not applicable.

There is no instruction on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, only a data entry guide.

Interviewer's instruction;

Data Entry Guide

https://www.agrostat.bg/ISASPublic/Structure

Data Entry Guide in the agrostatistics information system (ISAS)

https://www.mzh.government.bg/bg/statistika-i-analizi/prebroyavane-na-zemedelskite-stopanstva-prez-2020-g/

Manual of controls when filling in the statistical questionnaire - no link, printed edition

Agricultural Census Program in 2020

https://www.mzh.government.bg/bg/statistika-i-analizi/prebroyavane-na-zemedelskite-stopanstva-prez-2020-g/ 

https://www.agrostat.bg/ISASPublic/Structure

No available documentation on quality.

See sub-categories below.

Multi-level data control. We comply with the documents prepared by NSI.

https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pages/Quality/1.4.%20GUIDELINES%20NSS_BG.pdf

https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pages/Quality/1.5.%20QUALITY_NSI_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%20II_NEW_BG_corr.pdf

Information system improvements.

Good.

In 2020, a census of agricultural holdings was conducted for core structural and module data, therefore the data is free from sampling errors. The list of survey holdings has been updated with data from administrative sources and operating holdings above the specified thresholds can be considered covered. The studied variables are many in number, which necessitates a large number of validations, the data is controlled at several levels (by controllers, by experts, by validations in the information system during data entry and mandatory validations by Eurostat).

The data users are individuals and legal entities. The data is used for:

Policy, management needs, trend setting, research needs, business and entrepreneurship. Mainly information related to basic data is used - area, animals, labour force.

 In order to reach the data transmission values for some of the variables required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1091, more detailed information is collected through the statistical questionnaire.

There were requests for more detailed data, but this increased the number of the variables increasing the burden on the respondents and the budget.

No. The annual statistics and modular data for 2023 and 2026 will cover the need for data.

Working group meeting.

Not applicable.

Information on low- and zero prevalence variables is available on: Eurostat's website.

Not applicable for Integrated Farm Statistics as the not collected variables, not-significant variables and not-existent variables are completed with 0.

See categories below.

See sub-categories below.

Please find the relative standard errors for the main variables in the annex.

There is no discrepancy in accuracy, as 2020 was a complete census.

However for the purpose of the IFS2020 we did not calculate the relative standard error. In our case is not applicable.

See sub-categories below.

See sub-categories below.

The over-coverage rate is available in the annex. The over-coverage rate is unweighted.
The over-coverage rate is calculated as the share of ineligible holdings to the holdings designated for the core data collection. The ineligible holdings include those holdings with unknown eligibility status that are not imputed nor re-weighted for (therefore considered ineligible).

The unit non-response rate in 2020 is 0.0%. It was 0.3% in 2016.

The over-coverage rate in 2020 is 33.9%. In 2016, it was 29%.

The unit non-response rate has remained relatively stable while the over-coverage rate has slightly increased.

The high over-coverage rate is due to the following: As a result of the great dynamics of agricultural structures in the country (farm consolidation and the termination of the activities of small ones), the envisaged in the planning number of farms was not reached. The trend towards depopulation of villages and the aging of the rural population are the main reasons for the large number of closed farms. The pandemic situation due to the Coronavirus has affected the list update. Part of the planned meetings with the local authorities were organised as remote meetings, which did not allow the qualitative updating of the list of agricultural holdings, despite the efforts made in this direction. The Coronavirus pandemic has also had an adverse impact on agriculture. Due to the introduced restrictions and increased morbidity, part of the farmers gave up agricultural activity for the reference period. Together with other factors shaping the picture in agriculture, the emergence of highly infectious diseases in recent years in farm animals and poultry led to the liquidation of a large number of farms in 2019 and 2020.

Other.

Not requested.

See sub-categories below.

Low.

Many controls have been carried out, All established holdings with activity above the threshold are included in the submitted data.

Not available.

Agricultural census was conducted and there was no stratification process.

An information from administrative sources was looked from the local authorities - mayors.

See sub-categories below.

The causes are commonly categorised as:

Some logically related fields get controlled. Example: The sum of the crop area can not be greater than UAA, irrigated area and organic farming area can not be larger than main area, etc.

- Respondent: respondents may, consciously or unconsciously, give erroneous data;

The individual data is compared and clarified if necessary with a second interview. Such interviews are carried out by phone in case significant differences are recorded between the interview data, the administrative crosschecks and data from previous surveys.
Controls of sums and some logically related fields.

- Interviewer: interviewers may influence the answers given by respondents.

Low possibility of such an error. 

Problems, caused by difficult questions, unclear definitions, sensitive questions etc. which are likely to determine measurement errors.

Presence of errors related to non-compliance with the indicated units of measurement - ha/dka; sq.m./ha; ton /kg.

During the online introduction, administrative data on areas and animals were available in the system.

In order to eliminate the errors in the measurement, checks for logical connection and comparison with administrative data have been made.

See sub-categories below.

The unit non-response rate is in the annex of item 13.3.1.1. The unit non-response rate is unweighted.

The unit non-response rate is calculated as the share of eligible non-respondent holdings to the eligible holdings.  The eligible holdings include those holdings with unknown eligibility status which are imputed or re-weighted for (therefore considered eligible).
The unit non-response rate is calculated over the holdings in the main frame and if applicable frame extension, for which core data are sent to Eurostat.

The data on existing farms were collected through reminders and repeated contact with respondents and assistance from local authorities.

The ratio of the in-scope units which have not responded to a particular item is not calculated, it is not possible to calculate it by variables. For some of the modules, there are small farms without an answer for some of the variables.

Art of the variables of the AHMM module.

In most cases, there is a lack of response to only some of the variables from small farms. This does not affect the total value of the variable.

See sub-categories below

Comparison with administrative sources, logical connections between variables.

Agrostatistics experts

Other

Not applicable.

See sub-categories below.

4 months, April 2021

The final results are expected to be published on 30.06.2022 - 18 months after 31.12.2020

See sub-categories below.

See sub-categories below.

Not requested.

There is no delay. The publication with the final data is forthcoming.

See sub-categories below.

Not applicable, because there are no mirror flows in Integrated Farm Statistics.

See sub-categories below.

There is no difference in definitions, there is a difference in the scope. The sent data are for the basic data and for the modules for all farms, incl. of the extended framework, observed exhaustively. 

According to the data sent to Eurostat, the common land is pre-allocated to grassland farms, which affects the type of agriculture, SO, UAA and permanent grassland.

In 2020, a census was conducted and the collected from all farms data, including the data for modules, were sent

See sub-categories below.

Bulgaria has expanded the framework by introducing lower national threshold criteria and including surveyed farms that are below the thresholds set out in the regulation. The extended framework covers the entire UAA and LSU on agricultural farms, covering over 98%.

Bulgaria sent data for all monitored farms defined in national legislation, in order to achieve fuller coverage and maintain comparable thresholds over the years.

Not applicable.

See sub-categories below.

We collected, sent to Eurostat, and published data with the same definitions and classification of variables compared to Regulation (EU) 2018/1091, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1874, and EU handbook.

The information is available in the annex. The number of working hours and days in the year for full-time work corresponds to one annual work unit (AWU) in the country. One annual work unit corresponds to the work done by one person who is employed on a full-time in the farm. Annual labour units are used to calculate agricultural work on agricultural farms.

The information is available in the annex of item 15.1.4.1.1. 

The information is available in the annex of item 15.1.4.1.1. 

A criterion for the national agricultural threshold (extended framework) LSU 0.8 for equidae was used.

No differences between the types of livestock that we include under the heading “Other livestock n.e.c.” and the types of livestock that should be included according to the EU handbook.

The reason for using LSU 0.8 for equidae is to allocate the common land to the agricultural holdings with grazing animals.

See sub-categories below.

No

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The information was obtained by administrative sources about permanent grassland areas from the municipal land fund, which is not distributed individually to agricultural farms, but is used collectively by livestock farms. This area is distributed proportionally to the grassland farms (including equidae) from the census using the LSU unit area coefficient. The distribution is at the municipal level.

The distribution of the total land (grassland) at the municipal level and the way of determining the location of the farm is not precise enough. The proportional allocation based on LSU and the inclusion of the total land in the UAA of the farms affects the type of holdings and their SO.

See sub-categories below.

No

Not applicable.

No.

See sub-categories below.

There is a new regulatory framework for the survey 2020, which minimally changes of the thresholds and variables. The length of the comparable time series is 1, because there was a break in the time series concerning the reference periods.

See sub-categories below.

Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 deals with farms with only fur animals. Holdings with only fur animals are included in our data collection according to the national thresholds. We added thresholds related to fur animals.

See sub-categories below.

Bulgaria applies lower thresholds than the requirements of the Regulation. There is no reason to believe that there is a break in the time series and the main variables.

See sub-categories below.

In the previous structural survey big active farms (above certain criteria) on the territory of more than one administrative regions were reported separately for each region (NUTS3). In 2020, 1 record per holding was sent, regardless of the size of the farm and the geographical location of its activity - cultivated crops and animals.

See sub-categories below.

Legal personality of the agricultural holding

In IFS, there is a new class (“shared ownership”) for the legal personality of the holding compared to FSS 2016, which triggers fluctuations of holdings in the classes of sole holder holdings and group holdings.

Other livestock n.e.c.

In FSS 2016, deer were included in this class, but in IFS they are classified separately.

Also in FSS 2016, there was a class for the collection of equidae. That has been dropped and equidae are included in IFS in "other livestock n.e.c."

Livestock units

In FSS 2016, turkeys, ducks, geese, ostriches, and other poultry were each considered in a separate class with a coefficient of 0.03 for all the classes except for ostriches (coefficient of 0.035). In IFS 2020, the coefficients were adjusted accordingly, with turkeys remaining at 0.03, ostriches remaining at 0.35, ducks adjusted to 0.01, geese adjusted to 0.02, and other poultry fowls n.e.c. adjusted to 0.001.

Organic animals

While in FSS only fully compliant (certified converted) animals were included, in IFS both animals under conversion and fully converted are to be included.

See sub-categories below.

See sub-categories below.

In 2016, the data on the total land were transmitted as separate records of statistical units at the municipal level, and in 2020 the data on the total land were proportionally distributed to the UAA of agricultural holdings where grazing animals are kept.

Evolution over time, major trends:
- A2120, A2130 male bovine animals: The meat sector is developing. There is an increase in specialised bovine fattening farms. The growth is also confirmed in the annual statistics
- A3110 Piglets, live weight under 20 kg The sector is recovering after the destruction of animals due to diseases (African swine fever). The growth is also confirmed in the annual statistics
- A5140 Broilers: Poultry farming is one of the stable industrial sectors in agriculture and there has been an increase in meat production in recent years.
- C1120T Durum wheat - outdoor The area decrease is also confirmed in the annual statistics
- C1200T Rye and winter cereal mixtures (maslin) - outdoor: The area decrease is also confirmed in the annual statistics
- C1500T Grain maize and corn-cob-mix - outdoor The area increase is also confirmed in the annual statistics
- F3000T Berries (excluding strawberries) - outdoor In 2016, the entire area of cultivated rose hips was incl. in the position of Aromatic, medicinal and culinary plants (B_1_6_12), and in 2020 in aromatic and medicinal it is incl. the area of rose hips used for the perfumery and pharmaceutical industry, and the area of cultivated rose hips used for human consumption – marmalade, etc. are incl. in the position of berries. The area of raspberries in 2020 increased by 122 ha.
- G1000T Temporary grasses and grazings - outdoor The area increase is also confirmed in the annual statistics
- I1140T Linseed (oilflax) - outdoor The area increase is confirmed in the IACS data for area applying for support (2016 - 97 ha; 2020 - 205 ha)
- I2200T Hemp - outdoor It is related to permissions to grow certain varieties, the data is confirmed by the IACS data for the area applying for support (2016 - 7 ha; 2020 - 680 ha)
- I3000T Tobacco - outdoor The area reduction is also confirmed in the annual statistics, alternative crops are being sought. The reasons are mainly due to low purchase prices and expensive raw materials, and
labor-intensive production. The sector is not among the priorities.
- I9000T Other industrial crops n.e.c - outdoor The area reduction is also confirmed by the IACS data for the area applying for support.
- J1000T Permanent pastures and meadow, (excluding rough grazings) - outdoor: In recent years, the opportunities for farmers to rent meadows and pastures with better potential have improved, leading to the abandonment of some of the low-productive pastures.
- J2000T Permanent rough grazings - outdoor
- K0000T Kitchen gardens - outdoor Individual farms and small farms, with kitchen gardens, are decreasing
- N0000T Flowers and ornamental plants (excluding nurseries) - outdoor: Low prevalence variable
- V0000_S0000S Fresh vegetables (including melons) and strawberries - under glass or highly accessible cover The threshold for greenhouses is changing - in 2016 it was 0.05 ha and in 2020 - 0.01 ha.
- "In terms of UAA: from 2016 to 2020 it has been recorded a decrease of small farms (<2HA) and a corresponding growth of larger farms. In terms of LSK: BG: The decrease in the number of farms without LSU is the result of a decrease in the number of small farms and highly infectious diseases that have appeared in recent years, leading to the elimination of a large number of animals. Part of the farms did not resume their activity in the field of animal husbandry.
There are settlements with a very reduced number of farmed animals. Pig and poultry farming are increasingly specialised and animals are raised industrially in large livestock complexes. This process is
confirmed by the increase in the average number of farmed animals in 2020. BG: As a result of the decrease in the number of small farms (with SO below 2000 euros) in 2020, the share of the remaining farms changed when they are distributed by economic size classes."

See sub-categories below.

Not applicable to Integrated Farm Statistics, because there are no sub annual data collections in agriculture.

Not applicable, because Integrated Farm Statistics have no relevance for national accounts.

See sub-categories below.

The data from IACS and Annual Statistics are comparable.

See sub-categories below.

The major remarks from the cross-domain coherence analysis on MAIN AREA are:
- Q0000 / W1000: There is a difference in survey methodology. The fallow land from IACS is comparable to the data from the census. Data comparable at NUTS2 level. The census does not include area not being cared for more than 5 years and part of the area not being cared for less than 5 years, but the farmers have no other agricultural activity. Area below the census threshold are not counted.
- K0000: The Land cover and land use survey records all kitchen garden area. The methodology is different. The census does not include all farms with kitchen gardens, because of the thresholds. In the census, most of the area is distributed by crop and small area occupied by different types of crops are recorded in kitchen gardens.
- ARA99: There is a difference in the area reporting in the APRO and IFS surveys. Table 4 of Regulation (EC) 543/2009 contains data from the Land cover and land use survey. Data is collected using a different methodology. The Land cover and land use survey operates a territorial sample, observing points on the earth's surface. This position also includes area under high accessible glasscover (greenhouses). In the census, the area under unallocated crops of arable land is taken into account.
- PECR, permanent crops: Some of the perennials recorded on the field are not cared for and are not managed by farmers, but they are on the field and are reported in the land cover and land use survey.
- I0000, industrial crops: Industrial crops census data is comparable to the claimed area for support in IACS. The difference is from small-sized area of farms below the threshold. There is a difference in the sunflower area, which is less in the census. Part of the area is harvested for fodder
- Q0000 Fallow land: The census does not cover all area under fallow land, some of the farms are inactive during the period.
- ARA Arable land: There is a difference between APRO and IFS in the fallow area, which is not covered in the census, because some of them are in inactive farms. Covid 19 prevented the carrying out of agricultural activity and part of the agricultural holdings were inactive for the reference year.
- J0000, Permanent grassland: There is a difference in the methodology of the 2 surveys. The value of the Land cover and land use survey covers all grassed areas on which there are traces of passing and grazing animals. The census includes only the area individually allocated to farms and common land. The census data for grassed areas used individually by holdings are comparable to IACS.
- UAA Utilised agricultural area: The UAA (common land excl.) is comparable to the area declared in IACS. The difference in the methodology of the two compared surveys is the reason for the deviations. The census does not take into account all the available on-site grassland and perennials. There is no evidence that farms consistently use all of the grassland reported in the Land cover and land use survey grassland for animal grazing and forage. Some of the field-reported perennials are not cared for and are not managed by farmers, but are present and reported in the Land cover and land use survey. Not all fallows are included in the census, some of the fallows are not in active agricultural holdings.

IFS vs CULTIVATED AREA remarks:
- C1120 Durum wheat / I3000 Tobacco: The census data is distributed by holdings location, and in the annual statistics by crop location. The annual statistics data gives harvested area, the census gives sown area.
- I9000 Other industrial crops n.e.c.: Other technical crops are included, not allocated in the other crop headings. These crops are non-significant. The annual statistics data gives harvested area, the census gives sown area. A large part of the sown areas doesn’t get harvested.
- G9100 Other cereals harvested green (excluding green maize): Farmers have difficulty classifying forage crops that are sown for grain but harvested as a whole plant for forage
- F0000 Fruits, berries and nuts: The census includes area under young non-fruitbearing and area under abandoned permanent plantations up to 5 years old that can be restored. The Annual crop statistics (ACS) include only area harvested in the reference year
- C0000 Cereals for the production of grain / I0000 Industrial crops: At the Nuts2 level, the data are not comparable, as in the Annual crop statistics (ACS) the distribution by area is according to the crop location, and in the census - according to the holding location. The harvested area is recorded in the Annual crop statistics (ACS), and the sown areas in the census.

IFS vs ANIMAL PRODUCTION
In the census, the data is distributed geographically according to the farm location. There are farms with more than one livestock facility located in different Nuts2. Following the census methodology, the data on these holdings are collected and transmitted in a single record, while in the annual statistics the data is distributed by NUTS2 per farm location.

The data are internally consistent. This is ensured by applying a wide range of validation rules.

See sub-categories below.

The burden of the respondents is due to the large number of characteristics and the specific and difficult matter.

The respondents were re-asked for data on annual production surveys, which was used to control the basic data collected in the census.

Not applicable

See sub-categories below.

Not available

Not available

Administrative data

Not available

Bulgaria uses a Code of Practice for the Official Statistics developed for all Official Statistics, which covers the first release of many of the components of FSS (see link below). As far as the FSS dataset is concerned, it is subject to validation by Eurostat and revisions may be made to the dataset until it is approved by Eurostat. Once the dataset has passed Eurostat validation, we do not intend to make any further revisions unless a significant error is found.

http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pages/Quality_e/1.4.%20GUIDELINES%20NSS_FINAL_EN.pdf

Data revision for IFS data was not performed.

Not requested.

See sub-categories below.

See sub-categories below.

The statistical register of the agricultural farms supplemented with new holdings and updated by removing the inactive ones.

See sub-categories below.

Not applicable for 2019/2020.

Not applicable for 2019/2020.

Not applicable for 2019/2020.

See sub-categories below.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable

See sub-categories below.

Not applicable.

Not applicable

Not applicable.

See sub-categories below.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See sub-categories below.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See sub-categories below.

The information is available on Eurostat's website.

See the attached Excel file in the Annex. 

The information on innovative approaches is available on  Eurostat's website.

The agricultural census is conducted every 10 years.  The decennial agricultural census is complemented by sample or census-based data collections organised every 3-4 years in-between.

See sub-categories below.

BG_StatisticalQuestionnaireCensus2020

See sub-categories below.

Comparison of the data, control for logical connection in the information system (including validations from the manual), Eurostat data testing system.

An algorithm has been created for processing the collected data in the information system for bringing them into a form suitable for transmission to Eurostat (microdata file).

Not applicable.

Covered by Data compilation.

Not applicable to Integrated Farm Statistics, because it collects structural data on agriculture.

See sub-categories below.

CAP – Common Agricultural Policy

CAPI –  Computer Assisted Personal Interview

CATI – Computer Assisted Telephone Interview

CAWI – Computer Assisted Web Interview

FSS – Farm Structure Survey

IACS – Integrated Administration and Control System

IFS – Integrated Farm Statistics

LSU – Livestock units

NACE – Nomenclature of Economic Activities

NUTS – Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics

PAPI – Paper and Pencil Interview

SO – Standard output

UAA – Utilised agricultural area

No additional comments.