Identifying the core data needed for agri-environmental statistics:The Eurostat “DireDate project”
Johan Selenius, team leader
15 October 201015 October 2010
Johan Selenius, team leaderEurostat, Unit E1, Farms, agro-environment and rural developmentpment
Background
� Eurostat is coordinator of statistics within the EU
� My task in Eurostat is to collect data on the agri-environmental indicators and to develop this work together with the statisticians from the EU member states
� We can clearly see that the present demands for data are very demanding
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are very demanding
� There is a clear risk that too many actions are under way, both in the EU and worldwide, not properly coordinated
� Instead of waiting for users to come to us, we have started an initiative to offer users available data that can be used for most needs, anything else must be very well justified
Agri-environmental commitments
Land use change Risk of land abandonment
Genetic diversity
Agricultural areas under Natura 2000
Cropping patterns Gross nitrogen balance
High nature value farmland
Farmers’ training levels and use of agri-env. advisory services
Livestock patterns Risk of pollution by phosphorus
Production of renewable energy
Area under organic Soil cover Pesticide risk Population trends of
EU agrienvironmental indicators and
sub-indicators
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Area under organic farming
Soil cover Pesticide risk Population trends of farmland birds
Mineral fertiliser consumption
Tillage practices Ammonia emissions Soil quality
Consumption of pesticides
Manure storage Greenhouse gas emissions
Water quality –Nitrate pollution
Irrigation Intensification/ extensification
Water abstraction Water quality –Pesticide pollution
Energy use Specialisation Soil erosion Landscape – State and diversity
Land cover Pollution by nitrates and pesticides
Natural handicap payments to farmers in mountain areas
First establishment of agroforestry systems on agricultural land
Areas of extensive agriculture
Water use Payments to farmers in areas with handicaps, other than mountain areas
Natura 2000 payments
Natura 2000 area Areas at risk of soil erosion
Natura 2000 payments and payments linked to Directive 2000/60
Improving the environment and the countryside through land management
EU Rural Development Programs data requirements
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Population of farmland birds
Organic farming Agri-environment payments
Reversing Biodiversity decline
High Nature Value farmland areas
Production of renewable energy from agriculture and forestry
Animal welfare payments
Maintenance of high nature value farming and forestry areas
Water quality UAA devoted to renewable energy
Non-productive investments
Improvement in water quality
Gross Nutrient Balances
GHG emissions from agriculture
First afforestation of agricultural land
Contribution to combating climate change
Total number of farmers, and farmers with livestock
Annual contribution of mineral and organic forms of N (Kg N/ha)
CoGAP soaked, frozen, snow covered soils
CoGAP vegetation cover
Total land (km2) Annual use of mineral and organic N (kilotonnes)
CoGAP proximity of water courses
CoGAP fertilisation plans and spreading records
Agricultural land (km2)
Nitrogen discharge into the environment from agriculture, urban wastewater and industry.
CoGAP effluent storage works
CoGAP irrigation relating runoff and leaching
EU Nitrates Directive data requirements
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and industry.
Agricultural land available for application of manure (km2)
Date of publication and revision of codes of good agricultural practice (CoGAP)
CoGAP limitation and splitting of mineral and organic nitrogen inputs
CoGAP Estimation of farmers who voluntarily apply the code
Permanent pasture CoGAP periods of spreading
CoGAP methods of spreading
Permanent crops CoGAP
spreading on sloping soils
CoGAP crop rotations and crop maintenance
Enteric fermentation
Agricultural soils
Manure management
Prescribed burning of savannas
Rice cultivation Field burning of agricultural residues
UNFCC data requirements (very basic level)
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Changes to and from forest land
Changes to and from wetlands
Changes to and from arable land
Changes to and from settlements
Changes to and from grasslands
Changes to and from other land
LULUCF data requirements
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Use of Synthetic (mineral) fertilizer
Biological nitrogen fixation
Field burning of stubble, straw etc
Use of Natural inorganic fertilizer
Manure excreted by grazing animals
Manure management regarding organic and nitrogen compounds
Use of Organic manure (farmyard manure)
N input from atmospheric deposition resulting from NOX and NH emissions from
EU National Emissions Ceiling Directive (SO2, NOX
NMVOCs, NH3) data requirements
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NH3 emissions from agricultural crops and soils
Use of Compost Crop residue application
Present situation
� No complete overview in many countries of reporting
systems, even less on EU level
� Factual data requirements much more detailed than first
impression
� Data required often almost the same, but not exactly
� Huge risk of overlapping data collection set up
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� Huge risk of overlapping data collection set up
� Coefficients used in models have very high impact on
results, but are almost incomprehensible for non-experts
� Methodologies aim at showing everything, not what is
environmentally and politically most significant
Results of Eurostat/ Member States discussions
� Respondent burden too high
� Agricultural statistics face resource reductions, costs
must be cut
� Data collected is not used efficiently enough
� Each piece of data collected must be properly justified
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� Better harmonisation is needed to ensure data
comparability
� AEI data systems must be flexible, transparent and
contain coherent data flows
DireDate project tasks
� Analyse AEI and other reporting obligations for data
requirements, availability and gaps
� Analyse underlying methodologies (GHG and NH3
emissions, nutrient balances) especially on coefficients with
stress on data needs
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stress on data needs
� Summarise the data needs on the smallest denominator
level, identifying harmonisation synergies, give
recommendations for priority data collection
� Give best practice recommendations for common, EU-
wide, data collection arrangements
Guiding principles
� Lego blocs: design the framework and its building blocs in a way that it provides flexibility. The blocs should be used many times for many different functions. The framework has to be robust (sustainable) and flexible at the same time to be able to adjust to future changes.
� Multiple solutions: there is not just one optimal solution
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� Multiple solutions: there is not just one optimal solution for deriving the framework, but a range of possible solutions. Hence provide various proposals and indicate their pros and cons and ‘margins of flexibility’.
� Primary source: data collected directly at source, at the farm level, are likely to have a much larger accuracy than data derived from indirect sources
Guiding principles (cont.)
� Effectiveness and efficiency: collect and transmit data
once; use data many times; cluster data where possible.
� First things first: the emphasis of the work has to be on
the most important aspects. The priority activities have to
be identified and these have to be carried out.
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be identified and these have to be carried out.
� Subsidiarity: the idea that the central authority should
have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks
which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate
or local level.
� Sense of urgency
Lego blocks livestock management
Housing typeManure storage:
duration/capacity
Manure application
techniqueGrazing days
Manure treatmentTime of manure
application
Manure stored in
covered tanks
Manure stored in
lagoons
Manure stored in
manure heaps
Manure stored in
underfloor pits
If solid manure:
deep litter
For poultry manure:
share incinerated
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Housing: liquid or
solid system
Housing:
differentiate national
housing types
Housing: mech.
vent.
Housing: scrubbers
or biofilters
Housing: floor types
� Blocks need to be broken down into questions
understandable for the farmer
Main challenges
� How to prevent to re-invent the wheel?
� How to prevent going too much into detail?
� How to deal with different practices and data collection in Europe?
� How to find common denominators for the indicators?
� How to create a flexible and practical framework?
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� How to formulate recommendations for harmonization in a changing world?
� How to integrate the needs of the diverse group of stakeholders?
� How to minimize data collection and response burden?
� How to avoid too much emphasis (bias) on single issues that have the main interest of the consortium members?
� How to ensure that AEI are relevant for policy-making?