AGRICULTURE STATISTICS
OBJECTIVES
The Rural Environment and Agriculture Statistics Program provides reliable, relevant and timely information on the agriculture industry and its contribution to the Australian economy, rural communities and natural resource management, including data on:
- agricultural commodities produced on farms and their associated value
- structural information including the number, size and industry of farm businesses
- natural resource and land management practices undertaken on farms
- water used by farms for irrigation and sources of water
- farming demographics
- the level of foreign ownership of agricultural businesses, land and water assets.
Information from the program supports informed decision-making by Australian and state and territory governments, industry organisations, the academic sector and the wider community on issues important for agricultural policy determination at the national, regional, and international levels. These issues include: the productivity and competitiveness of the agriculture sector, food security and natural resource management. Data from the program directly supports the Australian National Accounts and Water Account.
The ABS engages broadly across government, industry and the wider rural community to ensure the continued relevance of the Rural Environment and Agriculture Statistics Program in the face of a rapidly changing policy environment. Over the past year, the ABS and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) have undertaken a joint project, the National Agricultural Statistics Review (NASR). The NASR is considering all aspects of the National Agricultural Statistical Information System and its ability to inform decision-making in relation to Australian agriculture. Preliminary findings from the first phase of the NASR were released 31 March 2014.
The program continues to support statistical capacity building initiatives internationally in support of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics.
OUTPUTS
The main outputs from the program are:
- preliminary findings from the first phase of the joint project with ABARES, published in National Agriculture Statistics Review - Preliminary Findings, 2013-14 (cat. no. 7105.0.55.003)
- preliminary and final data on agricultural commodities produced, their value, and water are released annually. This data is available in Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 7111.0); Value of Principal Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 7501.0); Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0); Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia (cat. no. 7503.0); Water Use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0); and Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production (cat. no. 4610.0.55.008)
- annual data on land management practices undertaken in Australia available in Land Management and Farming in Australia (cat. no. 4627.0)
- foreign ownership of agricultural businesses, land and water entitlements available in Agricultural Land and Water Ownership (cat. no. 7127.0)
- monthly data on livestock slaughtered for human consumption including meat produced available in Livestock and Meat, Australia (cat. no. 7218.0.55.001)
- quarterly data on other livestock products including poultry, meat and wool is available in Livestock Products, Australia (cat. no. 7215.0).
DEVELOPMENTS
The main medium-term developments in the program are to:
- undertake the 2015-16 Agricultural Census, which is the largest business collection undertaken by ABS - results will be released in 2017
- complete the final NASR report outlining the findings of the review, and continue the collaborative working relationship with ABARES to realise learnings from the review - ongoing
- embed ongoing consultation and review processes into the work program, to help develop the 2016-22 statistical program - ongoing
- continue to influence corporate improvements to data capture and data delivery systems through increased use and improved functionality of web forms and expanded use of administrative data (particularly geo-spatial data) - ongoing
- investigate innovative ways of acquiring data to meet user requirements beyond direct survey collection, such as through exploring the use of remote sensing and satellite imagery - ongoing.
PROGRAM MANAGER
Andrew Henderson
Assistant Statistician
Agriculture & Rural Environment Statistics Branch
RESOURCES
| Program costs | $m |
| 2014-15 | 6.9 |
| 2015-16 | 5.9 |
| 2016-17 | 8.5 |
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