Agriculture and Food -- Sources and Definitions
Agricultural Production and Yields
Production includes the quantities of a commodity sold in the market (marketed
production) and the quantities consumed or used by producers (auto-consumption).
Harvesting losses, threshing losses, and unharvested portions of the crop are
not included. The time reference on crop production is based on the calendar
year; data for any particular crop are reported under the calendar year in which
the entire harvest or the bulk of it took place. In a number of cases, crops
assigned by countries to a particular split year may appear under two different
calendar years.
Average production of cereals refer to the amount of cereals produced in a given
country or region each year. Cereals include wheat, barley, maize, rye, oats,
millet, sorghum, rice, buckwheat, alpiste/canary seed, fonio, quinoa, triticale,
wheat flour, and the cereal component of blended foods. Data relate to crops
harvested for dry grain only. Mixed grains and buckwheat are included, although
the following cereals are excluded: crops harvested for hay, crops used for
grazing, and crops harvested green for food, feed or silage.
Per capita production of cereals is calculated using national population data
for the year specified.
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Average cereal crop yields refer to the amount of grain produced per unit of
harvested area of cereals in a given country or region each year (i.e. average
yield=total production/harvested area). For cereal crop yields, area data relate
to harvested area. Some countries report sown or cultivated area only; however,
in these countries the sown or cultivated area does not differ significantly
in normal years from the area actually harvested, either because practically
the whole area sown is harvested or because the area surveys are conducted around
the harvest period. For most countries, FAO does not directly record yield data
but instead divides production data by the area harvested for a particular country
and year. In all cases, yields are computed from detailed area and production
data expressed in hectares and metric tons.
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Average production and yield of roots and tubers covers all root crops grown
principally for human consumption, such as cassava, yucca, taro, and yams; root
crops grown principally for feed are excluded. See production of cereals, cereal
crop yields, and the introductory paragraph above for more information.
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Average production and yield of pulses includes those harvested for dry harvest
only, such as lentils, pigeon peas, cowpeas, and vetches, and does not exclude
those used for feed. See production of cereals, cereal crop yields, and the
introductory paragraph above for more information.
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Average annual meat production refers to the mass of meat in metric tons produced
annually in a given country. Total meat production comprises horse meat, poultry
meat and meat from all other domestic or wild animals such as camels, rabbits,
reindeer and game animals. Both commercial and farm slaughter are included.
Meat production for most species is calculated from multiplying the number of
animals slaughtered by the average dressed carcass weight. Dressed carcass weights
exclude offal and slaughter fats. Data relate to animals slaughtered within
national boundaries, irrespective of their origin. Production data were collected
mostly through annual FAO surveys to governments. Data have been grouped in
12 month periods ending 30 September of the years stated in the tables. For
example, animals enumerated in a given country at any time between 1 October
1999 and 30 September 2000 are shown under the year 2000.
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Sources
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2002. FAOSTAT
on-line statistical service. Rome: FAO. Available on-line at http://apps.fao.org.
Population Data (for per capita calculations): Population Division of the Department
of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. 2002. World
Population Prospects: The 2000 Revision. New York: United Nations. Data set
on CD-ROM.
Agricultural Land and Inputs
Total cropland is comprised of both arable and permanent land in a given country
for each year. Arable land is land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas
are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under
market and kitchen gardens, and land fallow for less than five years. The abandoned
land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category. Data
for ?Arable land? are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially
cultivable. Permanent Crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land
for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa,
coffee and rubber; this category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit
trees, nut trees and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or
timber.
Hectares of cropland per 1,000 population is calculated using national population
data for the year specified.
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Arable and Permanent Cropland as a Percent of Total Land area is calculated
by dividing total cropland (above) by total land area for a given country. According
to FAO, the total area of the country includes the area under inland water bodies.
Theses data are reported to FAO by United Nations Statistical Division. Possible
variations in the data may be due to updating and revisions of country data
and not necessarily to any change of area.
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Percentage of cropland that is irrigated is calculated by dividing irrigated
land by total cropland (above) for a given country. Irrigated land refers to
the area of land with access to irrigation in a given country each year. These
data refer to, in thousands of hectares, the area of land in a given country
which is equipped to provide water to crops. These include areas equipped for
full and partial control irrigation, spate irrigation areas, and equipped wetland
or inland valley bottoms.
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Average annual fertilizer use is the use in metric tons of the nutrients nitrogen
(N), potash (K2O), and phosphate (P2O5). Data refer to the fertilizer year 1
July - 30 June. For countries that report their fertilizer statistics on a calendar-year
basis, data are shown under the fertilizer year that begins in that calendar
year; for example, 1991 data are under the fertilizer year starting on 1 July
1991. Data is collected through the FAO fertilizer questionnaire.
Fertilizer Intensity is calculated by fertilizer use by total cropland (above)
for a given country.
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Pesticide Use includes quantities of pesticides used in (or sold to) the agricultural
sector. Figures are generally expressed in terms of active ingredients. Pesticides
include: insecticides, mineral oils, herbicides, fungicides and bactericides,
seed treatment fungicides and insecticides, plant growth regulators, and rodenticides.
A strict inter-country comparison on the basis of the database is not feasible
because (1) The country coverage and time series are incomplete due to a high
rate of non-response, and (2) Although countries have been requested to report
data in terms of active ingredients, some countries may have reported in formulation
weight (including diluents and adjuvants) without specific indication.
Number of Tractors generally refer to wheeled and crawler tractors used in agriculture.
Garden tractors are excluded.
Agricultural workers as a percentage of the total labor force is the proportion
of the total labor force recorded as working in agriculture, hunting, forestry,
and fishing. Labor force comprises all people who meet the International Labour
Organization's definition of the economically active population.
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Percent of GDP generated from agricultural activities measures the percent of
total output of goods and services which are a result of value added by the
agriculture sector. These goods and services are for final use occurring within
the domestic territory of a given country, regardless of the allocation to domestic
and foreign claims. The industrial origin of value added is determined by the
International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) revision 3. Agriculture
corresponds to ISIC divisions 1-5 and includes forestry and fishing. Agricultural
production often must be estimated indirectly, using a combination of methods
involving estimates of inputs, yields, and area under cultivation. This approach
sometimes leads to crude approximations that can differ from the true values
over time and across crops for reasons other than climatic conditions or farming
techniques. Similarly, agricultural inputs that cannot easily be allocated to
specific outputs are frequently "netted out" using equally crude and ad hoc
approximations.
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Sources
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2002. FAOSTAT
on-line statistical service. Rome: FAO. Available on-line at http://apps.fao.org.
Development Data Group, The World Bank. 2002. World Development Indicators 2002
online (see http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=631625).
Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
Food Security
Variation in domestic cereal production is found by taking the average variation
(absolute deviation from mean) of cereal production between 1992 and 2001 and
dividing this by the mean production. This is an indicator of whether cereal
production is stable enough to ensure a predictable food supply. Please refer
to the definition above for more information on cereal production.
Net cereal imports and food aid as a percent of total consumption indicates
whether countries are able to produce sufficient grain for domestic consumption.
It is calculated by dividing net imports (imports minus exports) by total cereal
consumption (production + imports ? exports).
Food Aid as a Percent of Total Imports is calculated by dividing total food
aid by net cereal imports (imports minus exports).
Import and export data have, for the most part, been supplied to FAO by governments
through magnetic tapes, national publications and, most frequently, FAO questionnaires.
Official trade data have sometimes been supplemented with data from unofficial
sources or trade information supplied by other national or international agencies
or organizations. Cereal food aid shipments are included in FAO's import and
export calculations. Information on food aid shipments has been provided to
FAO by the World Food Program (please see http://www.wfp.org). Donors that have
provided food aid in very small quantities or at irregular intervals are not
listed individually.
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Average Daily Per Capita Calorie supply refers to the amount of available food
per person, per day, expressed in kilocalories (1 kilocalorie = 1 Calorie =
4.19 kilojoules).
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Calorie supply from animal products refers to the amount of available food from
animal products per person, per day. Animal products include: all types of meat
and fish; animal fats and fish oils; edible offal; milk, butter, cheese and
cream; and eggs and egg products.
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FAO compiles statistics on apparent food consumption based on Supply/Utilization
Accounts (SUAs) maintained in FAOSTAT. SUAs are time series data dealing with
statistics on supply and utilization. For each product, the SUA traces supplies
from production, imports and stocks to its utilization in different forms?addition
to stocks, exports, animal feed, seed, processing for food and non-food purposes,
waste (or losses), and lastly, as food available to the population, where appropriate.
For internal consistency, total supply balances with total utilization. In many
cases commodities are not consumed in the primary form in which they are presented,
e.g. cereals enter the household mainly in processed form like flour, meal,
husked or milled rice. To take this fact into account, the caloric value has
been derived by applying the appropriate food composition factors to the quantities
of the processed commodities, not by examining primary commodities. Per capita
supplies are derived from the total supplies available for human consumption
by dividing the quantities of food by the total population actually partaking
of the food supplies during the reference period. In almost all cases, the population
figures used are the mid-year estimates published by the United Nationals Population
Division.
Percent of Children that are Underweight refers to children under 5 whose weight-for-age
is below minus 2 standard deviations (for moderate underweight) or below minus
3 standard deviations (for severe underweight) from the median weight-for-age
of a reference population. The above data include both moderately and severely
underweight children. Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), developed by
UNICEF with partners in 1997, were used by 66 government ministries to collect
the data presented. Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provided relevant data
to UNICEF for more than 35 additional countries. For more information, please
consult the website maintained by DHS at http://www.measuredhs.com. Official
national level government data provide data for the majority of remaining countries.
Where no reliable official figures exist, estimates have been made by UNICEF.
The various data sources dictate that the data inevitably cover a wide range
of quality; where possible, only comprehensive or representative national data
have been used.
Sources
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2002. FAOSTAT
on-line statistical service. Rome: FAO. Available on-line at http://apps.fao.org.
United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF). 2001. State of the World's Children
2002. New York: UNICEF. Data available on-line at http://www.unicef.org/sowc02/.