Agricultural census: years, procedure. Ministry of Agriculture

In 2016, Russia will host a large-scale agricultural census - an event through which the competent authorities will collect data on the activities of various economic agents in the agricultural sector. It is noteworthy that the agricultural census is a phenomenon not new for the history of the Russian Federation. Similar events were held during the time of tsarist Russia. Especially active data collection in the form of agricultural census was carried out in the Soviet Union. The best experience of the agrarians of the USSR can also be used to solve modern problems of collecting data reflecting the state of affairs in the agricultural sphere. What is the specificity of Russian agricultural censuses? What are the features of the relevant event, which will be held in 2016?

The essence of agricultural lists and the history of their conduct in Russia

The agricultural census is an activity that is a collection conducted under special regulations, as well as the registration in due course of information on the state of affairs in national agriculture. This event is carried out by state bodies in order to obtain information on how the adopted agrarian sector development programs are implemented, what are the problems there, and what are the results of farmers' activities in certain periods.

The prototypes of agricultural censuses are known since the times of Ancient Rus. There is information that in the written sources of the 9th century there were records of the owners of land plots, the number of livestock that was available to them. It is known that several similar censuses took place in the 13th century. Subsequently, information on the activities of Russian landowners gathered in the 16th and 17th centuries through scribe books. At the end of the 17th century, census books began to be used for such purposes.

The first large-scale agricultural census in the modern sense was carried out in the European part of the Russian Empire in 1877-1878. The given action assumed data collection at the separate account of sowing areas on various types of cultures.

The first agricultural census as an official event was held in 1916. Let us study its features.

Agricultural Census of 1916

The agricultural census of 1916 was established in order to:

• Collection of data necessary for the organization of the food supply of the state in 1917-1918 in the conditions of war;
• Obtaining statistical information necessary to improve the legal norms that regulate the sphere of agriculture.

In the documentary forms of the 1916 census, information on landowners, livestock, and crop areas was supposed to be reflected. Also in them data on stocks, rates of expenditure of various kinds of the foodstuffs were brought.

The data of the agricultural census of 1916 were published already in the Soviet period. They included information on 76 provinces with a population of about 104.4 million people, on the territory of which about 19.2 million farms operated.

The agricultural census, which was carried out in 1916, showed that about 64.3% of crops were taken by food crops, about 31.6% by fodder crops. About 3.5% of the territory was occupied by oil-bearing crops, 0.6% - others. Approximately 52% of the area of crops fell on wheat, rye, about 29% - on oats, barley. The census showed that 55.8 million head of cattle were in the possession of Russian farmers, of which 44% were cows.

In 1917-1920 a number of other agricultural censuses were carried out. We will study information about them.

Agricultural Census of 1917-1920

The agricultural census of 1917 was the second large-scale event, within which data on the state of affairs in the agrarian sphere of the state were collected. It was carried out mainly to organize the supply of food to the armed forces of the country.

In the framework of this census, data were collected on all peasant holdings, artels and other forms of agricultural activity. However, only those farms in which there were field crops were considered.

In 1919, Russia conducted a census in the agrarian sector within a sample size of 10%. It was carried out in order to identify changes in the activities of peasant farms following the abolition of the Soviet government private land ownership, as well as the adoption of a law under which the lands were nationalized.

The All-Russian agricultural census of 1920 was more ambitious. It was carried out in order to obtain information on the changes in the sphere of agriculture by the authorities following the reforms after the October Revolution. The results of this event showed that about 14.2 million farms operate in the new Soviet state. The state bodies responsible for carrying out the agricultural census of 1920 collected data on the number and composition of labor in the country's agrarian sector, the size of the acreage, the livestock and poultry.

Agricultural Census in the USSR

Subsequently, after the creation of the USSR, a large number of selective censuses in the agrarian sphere were conducted. So, they could take into account the figures for 2-3, 5, 10% of farms, leading activities in the state. It can be noted that in 1928 and 1929 a census was carried out both on state farms and collective farms, and in 1930 only on organizations of the second type. Within the framework of the relevant censuses, data were collected on the composition of families engaged in agriculture, the size of the acreage, the livestock population, and the inventory that was available to citizens who cultivated land and raised livestock.

In general, the agro-industrial sector of the USSR was actively investigated by competent state bodies in the years before the Great Patriotic War, in the period that it corresponded to - in the form of urgent censuses. In the 50-80s, a large number of relevant events were also held.

Let us now consider how the agricultural census in post-Soviet Russia was conducted.

Agricultural Census in Post-Soviet Russia

In fact, the first large-scale all-Russian agricultural census was carried out in Russia in 2006 after the collapse of the USSR. Its main goals were:

• Receipt by competent authorities of information on the status and structure of national agriculture, its potential and the availability of resources for its development;
• Obtaining statistical data on the agrarian sector in municipalities;
• Improvement of methods of statistical data recording in agriculture.

Information on the relevant agricultural census was supposed to be used as a source of data for subsequent activities of this type. The 2006 All-Russian Agricultural Census was the first to assess the state of affairs in the national agricultural sector of the Russian Federation and assess the changes that have occurred since the reforms carried out by the state.

It can be noted that during this census, both innovative technologies for data collection and those approaches that were formed in the past years of implementing similar activities were applied. The data of the agricultural census were subsequently published on the Rosstat website.

In accordance with the Russian government's decision No. 316, published on April 10, 2013, the next agricultural census was planned in Russia in 2016. Let's consider the basic information about it.

Agricultural Census of 2016: basic information about the event

So, the second All-Russian agricultural census is held in 2016 on the initiative of the Russian government. This event is planned to be implemented in 2 stages. From July 1 to August 15, the census will be conducted in the most accessible territories of Russia, from September 15 to November 15 - in hard-to-reach regions of the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, responsible for conducting the census in 2016, should collect data on 167,600 farms, 31,400 agricultural organizations, 29,600 economic entities in the status of microenterprises, and 55,000 farmers in status IP, about 20 million personal households, as well as about 80,000 non-profit associations of gardeners and summer residents.

Each of the relevant types of economic entities can deal with specific types of tasks specific only for enterprises of a certain scale that are located in a particular region of the Russian Federation. One of the objectives of the agricultural census is to identify such patterns and analyze them from the point of view of their applicability in order to increase the effectiveness of state policy in the field of agricultural development.

We will now study the goals and tasks that the participants of the event are to solve.

Goals and objectives of the agricultural census of 2016

The All-Russian Agricultural Census of 2016 presupposes the decision by the competent authorities of tasks in general similar to those set in the framework of the relevant event in 2006.

So, they will:

• Collect statistical data on the status and structure of the Russian agro-industrial sector, on the resources that it possesses, and on its potential;
• To form detailed characteristics of the activities of economic entities in the agrarian sphere - in order to study the development strategy of this industry, develop tools for economic impact on it in order to stimulate development;
• Receiving data that allows to characterize the level of food security of the state.

We will study what key indicators are supposed to be fixed in the agricultural census of 2016.

Agricultural Census of 2016: key indicators

The agricultural census of 2016 is an event during which competent specialists will collect information:

• On the size of land areas owned by citizens and organizations, on their structure and methods of use;
• Related to demographic indicators for various census objects;
• On employment in the sphere of agriculture;
• On the area of crops of various crops, classified by species;
• O livestock and poultry - also in relation to their individual species;
• On the availability at the disposal of an economic entity of various types of machinery, equipment and other infrastructure.

We will study in more detail which economic entities can be objects of agricultural census in 2016.

Agricultural Census of 2016: objects

In accordance with the provisions of a separate federal law, the objects of the agricultural census of 2016 may be physical persons and organizations:

• Owning, leasing or using on other grounds land plots that are used for the release of agricultural products;
• Owning farm animals.

Manufacturers of agricultural products in accordance with the legislation are classified into the following categories of economic entities:

• Legal entities;
• Peasant farms;
• individual entrepreneurs;
• Subsidiary farms of citizens;
• Gardening and dacha non-profit associations of agricultural producers.

The next important aspect of such an event as the agricultural census is preparation. Let's consider its features with reference to the agricultural census of 2016, in more detail.

Preparing for the 2016 Agricultural Census

The way in which this direction of work of the participants of the agricultural census is carried out in 2016 is determined, as a rule, at the level of a specific municipality, but in accordance with the norms of federal laws. So, most often in the territories of local subordination, special commissions for carrying out agricultural census are established. They usually include representatives of the municipal government, Rosstat, experts in the field of agriculture, representatives of law enforcement and supervisory bodies.

It is noteworthy that the preparation for the agricultural census of 2016 in most cases was carried out since 2015. So, by the time of the relevant event, it was assumed that competent specialists will successfully solve such problems as:

• Formation of the list of economic entities for which data are to be collected;
• Implementation of census zoning - division of the municipality into separate territories and census areas to improve the efficiency of the specialists responsible for data collection;
• Involvement of registrars in order to form an official list of agricultural census objects.

The procedure for conducting an agricultural census, as reflected in the legislation, provides for mandatory protection of the personal data of participants in the relevant event. Let's study this nuance in more detail.

Agricultural Census of 2016: protection of personal data of participants

The fact that data on census participants are subject to protection is reflected in several sources of law. Firstly, it is a federal law, according to which an agricultural census is organized. Secondly, this is a separate Federal Law on the protection of personal data.

In accordance with the rules of law in force in the legislation of the Russian Federation, information that is included in the census registers should be considered as information that is not subject to unauthorized disclosure. The only way to use it is to transfer it to appropriate information systems. The users of this information can only be the competent authorities and other entities to whom this right is granted by law.

Processing of data that are contained in the registers of agricultural census should be carried out on condition that they are provided with the necessary protection - that is, using reliable modern encryption and data transfer technologies. Employees of the authorities participating in the agricultural census, undertake in accordance with the law not to disclose information contained in the census registers.

At the same time, it should be noted that the results of the agricultural census - in the form in which the confidentiality criteria for information on certain economic entities will be met - are subsequently to be published - in hard copy and on the Internet. These or other information, thus, will be impersonal and will not contain references to specific agricultural enterprises.

Summary

So, we examined the essence of the concept of agricultural census, the history of these activities. In Russia, many types of agriculture are historically developed and in order to build an effective policy of support and development of this sphere, the state regularly collects data on the state of affairs in the relevant sector.

In 2016, the second agricultural census is being conducted in the Russian Federation after the collapse of the USSR. In turn, during the Soviet period, these events were very often conducted: the experience of those times, the practice of collecting information on the agricultural sector are also used to solve the current tasks set by the Ministry of Agriculture and other interested state structures.

In 2016, one of the largest agricultural censuses will be held. Competent authorities will collect data on all the main economic entities of the agrarian sector and classify them within a wide range of different categories - so as to form an information base that can be used to objectively analyze the state of the agricultural sector in Russia. Subsequently, the agricultural census data will be used by the authorities when building new priorities in the policy of development of the agricultural sector and the sectors of the country's economy dependent on it.