Archive:Farm structure in Belgium - 2007 results
- Data from December 2008. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article is part of a series of country-specific essays on the results of the European Union (EU) Farm structure survey (FSS) 2007. It provides a brief but nevertheless comprehensive insight into farm structure in Belgium.
The 2007 FSS recorded 48 000 agricultural holdings in Belgium, which represents a 7 % decrease since 2005. The average farm used 30 ha, had 108 livestock units (LSU) and used 1.4 annual work units (AWU).
Main statistical findings
More than half of Belgian farms are specialised in livestock
In 2007, about 46 100 agricultural holdings in Belgium had an economic size of at least one European size unit (ESU), compared to 49 600 in 2005 (a 7 % reduction).
These farms made use of 1.37 million hectares (ha) of utilised agricultural area (UAA), a decrease of nearly 1 % compared with 2005, which makes the average size of a holding in Belgium around 30 ha (compared with 28 ha in 2005). See Figure 1 for the distribution of UAA in terms of farm size, while Table 2 describes the size distribution and other characteristics of the agricultural holdings.
These holdings employed 64 700 annual work units, the equivalent of 64 700 people working full time, a decrease of 6 % since 2005. The average area per AWU was 21 ha (around 1 ha more than in 2005). The organisation and distribution of the labour force in Belgium is described in Figure 2 and Table 1.
The farms contained 3.8 million livestock units in 2007, 2 % less than in 2005. From 2005 to 2007 the number of farms with livestock decreased by 7 %. The distribution of livestock by farm size is shown in Table 4 and Figure 3.
Amongst the 46 100 agricultural holdings in 2007:
- 26 % made use of less than one AWU, while another 23 % made use of two or more AWUs;
- 11 % used less than 2 ha, while 19 % used 50 ha or more;
- 51 % of Belgian farms specialised in livestock;
- 14 % were specialists in dairy farming;
- 14 % were engaged in general field cropping;
- 18 % were specialists in cattle – rearing and fattening.
Amongst the sole holders:
- 14 % were women in 2007;
- 43 % were aged 55 or more and 6 % were younger than 35 years (this younger class of farmers fell by 24%); and
- 14 % had another gainful activity in 2007.
In Belgium in 2007, 32 % of the agricultural area was farmed by its owners.
The family labour force represents 79 % of the total labour force - a 7 % decrease from 2005 to 2007.
The rape and turnip area almost doubled from 2005 to 2007 (a 92 % increase), going from 14 % of the arable land in 2005 to 29 % in 2007. On the other hand, the area sowed with industrial plants fell by 16 %. Details of land use by size of farm are given in Table 3.
The number of dairy cows fell by 5 %, while the number of other cows, (bovine 2 years old and over) increased by 2 %. The average number of LSU per holdings with livestock rose from 103 to 108 between 2005 and 2007. The situation for subsistence farming in Belgium is outlined in Table 5.
In Belgium the average SGM per holding increased from 68 ESU in 2005 to 73 in 2007.
Data sources and availability
Due to the different coverage of the FSS across Member States, the total number of farms is not comparable between countries. This is why the present analysis, including Tables 1-4 and the graphs focus on holdings of at least one European size unit.
In Belgium the Farm structure survey has been performed annually since 1960 as an exhaustive survey, including the FSS 2007. The Agricultural Statistics Unit of the Directorate General of Statistics and Economic Information, in coordination with the regional offices and the municipalities, was responsible for carrying out the survey. The reference day for the livestock and the crops was the 1st May, and the 12 months preceding the survey for the labour-force related questions.
The FSS relates to agricultural holdings producing agricultural products if they produce for sale. It also incorporates research establishments, nursery services of public bodies producing for they own needs, schools, religious communities, prisons and similar organizations which have at least one are (0.01 ha) or some livestock.
The frame for the survey was taken from the list of holdings that took part in the 2006 agricultural census (49 900 units). The initial number of farms decreased due to the fact that the number of units that ceased their activity was higher than the number of new farms.
The central office in Brussels was in charge of the overall organization of the survey. The checking and encoding of the questionnaires was under the responsibility of the four regional offices. The municipalities were in charge of conducting the interviews with farmers. The average number of holdings per municipality in 2007 was 83.
The questionnaire could be filled out on paper or on an electronic form. 217 of the 581 Belgian municipalities chose the electronic form (47% of the declarations). In both cases the questionnaires were pre-filed with the information from the previous survey.
Between FSS 2005 and 2007 "maintaining land in good agricultural and environmental conditions" (GAEC) became an agricultural activity and the concerned land has been included in the agricultural area. In Belgium it covers close to 4 100 ha, 99% in holdings with at least 1 ESU.
For each activity (`enterprise`) on a farm (for instance wheat or dairy cow), a standard gross margin (SGM) is estimated, based on the area (or the number of heads) and a regional oefficient. The sum of such margins in a farm is its economic size, expressed in European size units (ESU, 1 ESU is a 1200-euro SGM).
An annual work unit (AWU) is equivalent to a worker employed on a full time basis for one year. In Belgium it is 1856 hours (232 working days of 8 working hours per day).
Context
The European Commission rural development policy aims to improve competitiveness in agriculture and forestry, improve the environment and countryside, improve the quality of life in rural areas and encourage the diversification of rural economies.
As agriculture has modernised and the importance of industry and services within the economy has increased, so agriculture has become much less important as a source of jobs. Consequently, increasing emphasis is placed on the role farmers can play in rural development, including forestry, biodiversity, the diversification of the rural economy to create alternative jobs and environmental protection in rural areas.
The FSS continues to adapt to provide timely and relevant data to help analyse and follow these developments.
See also
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Farm Structure Survey in Belgium - 2007 - Statistics in focus 99/2009
- National Methodological Report – FSS 2007 Belgium (available on request)
Main tables
- Agriculture, see:
- Farm structure: historical data (1990-2007) (t_ef)
Database
- Agriculture, see:
- Farm structure (ef)
Dedicated section
- Ad-hoc tables: Farm Structure Survey
Methodology / Metadata
- Farm structure (ESMS metadata file — ef_esms)