Archive:Farm structure in Portugal - 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 Portugal.
The 2007 FSS recorded 275 000 agricultural holdings in Portugal, which represents a 15 % decrease since 2005. The reduction in the number of smaller farms is greater (-18 %) than in larger ones (-4 %).
Main statistical findings
70 % of the farmers are 55 years or older
In 2007, about 181 600 agricultural holdings in Portugal had an economic size of at least one European size unit (ESU), compared to 219 000 in 2005 (a 17 % reduction).
These farms made use of 3.3 million hectares (ha) of utilised agricultural area (UAA), (5 % less than in 2005), which makes the average size of a holding in Portugal 18 ha (compared with 16 ha in 2005). See Graph 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 266 600 annual work units (AWUs), the equivalent of 266 600 people working full time, a decrease of 16 % since 2005. The average area per AWU was 12.5 ha (around 1.5 ha more than in 2005). The organization and distribution of the labour force in Portugal is described in Graph 2 and Table 1).
The farms contained 1.98 million livestock units (LSU) in 2007, 2 % less than in 2005. From 2005 to 2007 the number of farms with livestock decreased by 17 %. The distribution of livestock by farm size is shown in Table 4 and Figure 3.
Amongst the 181 600 agricultural holdings in 2007:
- 35 % made use of less than one AWU, while another 22 % made use of two or more AWUs;
- 31 % used less than 2 ha, while 5 % used 50 ha or more;
- 48 % of Portuguese farms specialised in vegetal production, and 18 % in livestock
- 18 % of the holdings specialised in mixed cropping;
- 11 % were specialists in vineyards; and
- 10 % of the holdings specialised in fruit and citrus fruit;
Amongst the sole holders:
- 26 % were women in 2007;
- 70 % were aged 55 or more and 2 % were younger than 35 years; and
- 22 % had another gainful activity in 2007.
In Portugal in 2007, 70 % of the agricultural area was farmed by its owners.
The family labour force represents 78 % of the total labour force - a 17 % decrease from 2005 to 2007.
The area farmed under Organic production methods increased by 26 % from 2005 to 2007 in Portugal. It covered 10 % of the arable land, compared with 7 % in 2005. Details of land use by size of farm are given in Table 3.
Industrial crops increased considerably (87 %), mainly related to the greater production of sunflowers.
The number of dairy cows decreased by 5 %, while the number of other cows (2 years old and under) grew by 5 %.
In Portugal the average farm had 18 ha, 11 LSU and a SGM per holding of 9.7 ESU in 2007.
The situation for subsistence farming in Portugal is outlined in Table 5.
Data sources and availability
The Portuguese National Statistical Institute (INE) in coordination with its regional agencies implemented the FSS 2007 in Portugal. It was the third survey after the last Agricultural census in 1999 (AC 1999). It was a sample survey and its reference period was from 1 November 2006 to 31 October 2007. For livestock the reference day was the day of the survey (the interviews were carried out from November 2007 to April 2008).
The Portuguese definition of an agricultural holding is the reflection of the EU definition: a technical and economic unit which used its own labour and production factors and produces agricultural products (or maintains land in good agricultural and environmental conditions), has a single management, is located in an identifiable place and reaches at least one the following thresholds:
- at least 1 hectare (ha) of UAA;
- under 1 ha but having at least 500 m2 of ornamental flowers and plants or greenhouses or nurseries or aromatic plants, 1000 m2 of intensive horticultural crops or seeds of fodder crops or seeds and seedlings of non-woody crops, 2000 m2 of industrial crops or orchards or vineyards, 5000 m2 of olive plantation, potatoes or extensive horticultural crops or 1 tonne of mushroom yearly production;
- has a stock of 1 breeding bull, or 1 cow or 2 bovines aged 2 years or more, or 3 fattening pigs, or 1 breeding sow, or 6 ewes, or 6 female goats, or 10 breeding rabbits, or 100 laying and/or breeding females of the poultry species considered, or 10 beehives, or 2 breeding ostriches or 500 laying quails, or has produced in the preceding year 5 bovine animals, or 5 pigs, or 250 geese, or 250 turkeys, or 250 guinea fowl, or 500 broilers or 500 ducks, or 15 ostriches or 10 000 quail.
The sampling frame for the survey, which included over 410 000 holdings, was the AC1999 updated through the previous surveys (2003, 2005) and administrative sources. The sample was a stratified random sample, based on the geographical regions, the labour force, typology and UAA. A total of around 39 000 holdings where included in the sample.
Among these holdings over 4 000 were closed down or abandoned, the final result was close to 34 800 holdings representing about 275 000 holdings.
The non-response rate in the 2007 FSS in Portugal was quite low (1 %). All non-responses were replaced with other holdings from the same stratum or by imputation in rare exhaustive strata.
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 Portugal it covers close to 7 400 ha, 94 % in holdings with at least 1 ESU.
For each activity (`enterprise`) on a farm (for instance wheat, dairy cow or vineyard), a standard gross margin is estimated, based on the area (or the number of heads) and a regional coefficient. The sum of such margins in a farm is its economic size, expressed in European ssize 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 Portugal it is 1920 hours (240 working days of 8 working hours per day).
A livestock unit (LSU) is equivalent to a dairy cow. The number of animals (number of heads) is converted into LSU using a set of coefficients reflecting the feed requirements of the different animal categories.
Context
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 Portugal - 2007 - Statistics in focus 22/2009
- National Methodological Report – FSS 2007 Portugal (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)