FAO has supported member countries to carry out their national agricultural censuses since 1945, through the development and dissemination of international standards, concepts, definitions and methodologies as well as technical assistance. In 2015, FAO published Volume 1 of the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020 (WCA 2020) “Programme, concepts and definitions”, the tenth decennial programme that provides guidelines for implementation of national agricultural censuses in the 2016-2025 decade. Volume 1 deals with the methodological and conceptual aspects of the census of agriculture. In addition to the use of international standards, the proper conduct of an agricultural census also depends on adequate planning, implementation, use of resources and quality assurance throughout all stages of the census. In light of this, Volume 2 of WCA 2020 “Operational guidelines” has been designed to guide national census practitioners responsible for conducting the agricultural census. It deals with the practical steps involved in actually conducting an agricultural census in the field. Volume 2 is a revised and updated edition of “Conducting Agricultural Censuses and Surveys”, published by FAO in 1996. The revision is opportune not only in view of the recent publication of the new census programme and methodology but also in view of the substantial changes witnessed in the census technological environment over the last two decades. The availability of digital, mobile and more affordable tools for data capture, geo-positioning, remote sensing imaging, digital archiving and online dissemination have provided new cost-effective alternatives to traditional ways of conducting the agricultural census.

The objective of the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2010 is to assist countries in the conduct of their national census of agriculture, including guidance on the integrated system approach to agricultural censuses and surveys. This publication provides a detailed list of items suitable for inclusion in the national agricultural census programme as well as definitions, concepts and standards to be adopted.

At the end of each census round, FAO reviews and assesses national census practices, methodologies and results, and summarizes the findings in methodological publications, under the Statistical Development Series (SDS). For the WCA 2010 round (2006–2015), these assessments have been presented in two separate publications. The first one, titled “Main results and metadata by country” (SDS 17), published in 2019, presented a compendium of census metadata and main results for a record number of 127 countries and territories. The SDS 18, i.e. this publication, presents in its first part (Chapters 1 to 12) a methodological review of the national censuses. In its second part (Chapter 13), it illustrates global comparable data on key variables characterizing the structure of agriculture. The global review of census results includes key structural variables that are not available elsewhere. Some examples are number and area of holdings, land tenure and holder gender. Other variables are land size classes, average holding sizes, legal status of holders, household sizes, source of farm labour, land use and operated land.

At the end of each round, the FAO Statistics Division reviews and assesses national census practices, methodologies and results, and summarizes the findings in methodological publications, under the Statistical Development Series (SDS). The SDS 17, i.e. this first publication, is a compendium of reviews of country agricultural censuses conducted during the WCA 2010 round (which covers the period 2006–2015) and their main results. This publication includes detailed metadata on agricultural censuses conducted by different countries. Apart from providing information on historical background, legal, institutional frameworks and international collaboration, the publication also provides an overview of the census staff, reference and enumeration periods, scope and coverage, methodological modalities, frame, data collection methods, questionnaires used, new technology used, data processing and archiving, and census data quality and dissemination. The metadata reviews are complemented by tables with main results on key structural characteristics, such as number of holdings, total area of holdings, area irrigated, machinery, gender, and sex of holders, number of household members, farm labor, livestock, and crop areas. This review of the WCA 2010 round is intended to serve as useful reference material for census planners and data users, providing valuable lessons for future censuses, which will ultimately lead to improved assessments of countries’ agricultural sectors.