Technical Notes: Agricultural Inputs VARIABLE DEFINITIONS AND METHODOLOGY Arable and permanent cropland, in hectares, refers to the total area of land comprised of either arable or permanent cropland. 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 temporarily fallow (less than five years). 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 cropland is land that is 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. Data on land use is reported by country governments, in surveys distributed by the FAO. However, for this dataset, a significant percentage of data is based on estimates conducted by the FAO, and some data are based on unofficial estimates. Agricultural labor as a percentage of the total labor force is calculated by WRI by dividing the number of agricultural workers by the total number of workers in the labor force. Agricultural labor force is the number of economically active persons engaged in agriculture, hunting, forestry or fishing. According to ILO, the economically active population "comprises all persons of either sex who furnish the supply of labour for the production of economic goods and services as defined by the United Nations systems of national accounts and balances during a specified time-reference period." For a complete definition, see the Resolution concerning statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment, adopted by the Thirteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (available online at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/res/ecacpop.htm). Data on total number of agricultural workers are compiled by FAO from the ILO's dataset titled Economically Active Population, 1950-2010 (available online at: http://laborsta.ilo.org/). These data are derived from population censuses, sample surveys of the economically active population, and other related surveys. In cases where country data are lacking, data are obtained by extrapolation, either by using information from socio-economically and culturally similar neighboring countries or by using special models of activity rates. Annual figures are obtained through interpolating and extrapolating from the ILO decennial series. Agricultural labor intensity, number of workers per hectare shows the labor input intensity of agricultural systems. It is calculated by WRI by dividing the number of agricultural workers by the number of hectares of arable and permanent cropland. Values vary widely among countries according to labor scarcity, production technologies, costs of energy and machinery, etc. Number of tractors in use refers to the total number of wheeled and crawler tractors used in agriculture. Garden tractors are excluded. Tractors per 1000 Hectares of Cropland is calculated by WRI by dividing the number of tractors in use by the total hectares of arable and permanent cropland. Data for agricultural machinery are reported by country governments through surveys. Individual countries have different methods of data collection. Irrigated land as a percentage of total cropland is calculated by WRI by dividing the hectares of land equipped for irrigation by the total hectares of arable and permanent cropland. Types of irrigated land include full and partial control irrigation, spate irrigation areas, and equipped wetland or inland valley bottoms. Data on irrigated land is reported by country governments, in surveys distributed by the FAO. However, for this dataset, a significant percentage of data is based on estimates conducted by the FAO, and some data are based on unofficial estimates. Fertilizer use, kilograms per hectare, is calculated by WRI by dividing the total fertilizer consumption, measured in kilograms of plant nutrient, by the total hectares of arable and permanent cropland. The measure of fertilizer consumption is an aggregate of nitrogenous, phosphate and potash fertilizers. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) collects data on fertilizer use through surveys distributed to participating governments. In addition, the Ad Hoc Working Party on Fertilizer Statistics works to improve geographic coverage of the data. Hectares of arable and permanent cropland are determined through a variety of means, including self-reporting from governments and FAO estimation methods. Pesticide use, kilograms per hectare, is calculated by WRI by dividing the total pesticide consumption, measured in kilograms of active ingredients, by the total hectares of arable and permanent cropland. Pesticides are organized into eight categories, the sum of which is used to determine total pesticide consumption. The eight categories are: insecticides, mineral oils, herbicides, fungicides and bactericides, seed treatment - fungicides, seed treatment - insecticides, plant growth regulators and rodenticides. FAO originally collected data for individual pesticides three decades ago through administering the Pesticides Consumption Annual Questionnaire to participating governments. Following poor response from the questionnaire, FAO, in cooperation with the Commission of the European Union, simplified the survey to include only major groupings of pesticides. The current database contains the results of these more recent surveys. Hectares under organic management refers to number of hectares of land either fully converted to organic agriculture or in the process of conversion. Percent of total agricultural land under organic management shows the portion of agricultural land converted to organic or in the process of conversion. The percentages are calculated by IFOAM. The area of total agricultural land used in this calculation is not the same as that used by the FAO for total arable and permanent cropland, presented in the first column of this table. Definitions of organic agriculture vary between countries. According to the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labeling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods, 1999, "organic agriculture is holistic production management systems which promotes and enhances agroecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity... Organic production systems are based on specific and precise standards of production which aim at achieving optimal agro-ecosystems which are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. Terms such as "biological" and "ecological" are also used in an effort to describe the organic system more clearly. Requirements for organically produced foods differ from those for other agricultural products in that production procedures are an intrinsic part of the identification and labeling of, and claim for, such products." Data for organic agriculture, collected by IFOAM, are based on a variety of collection methods, such as surveys, research and country experts. FREQUENCY OF UPDATE BY DATA PROVIDERS Arable and permanent cropland, tractor usage, irrigated land, fertilizer use and pesticide use, FAO: As of June 2003, data were available through 2002. FAO updates these data annually. Organic agriculture, IFOAM: IFOAM first published data on international organic agriculture in 1998 and updates the information annually. DATA RELIABILITY AND CAUTIONARY NOTES: Arable and permanent cropland data are based either on reports from national governments or FAO estimates. Often definitions of land use categories differ between countries making it difficult to make comparisons. Data for agricultural labor were estimated by ILO from the decennial population series by interpolating and extrapolating past trends. Because of this estimation method, yearly fluctuations in these data may not be accurately captured. Figures for agricultural labor include workers in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing. As a result, some island nations with significant fishing sectors or small countries with extensive forestry sectors will have artificially high ratios that do not accurately reflect the labor intensity of farming activities. Values for number of tractors and tractor intensity should be treated with caution, as there is no differentiation by tractor type or quality-for example, by horsepower rating. WRI calculations for irrigated land as a percentage of total cropland may yield results over 100% due to inconsistencies in measurement methods or estimation for land use. Fertilizer and pesticide use per hectare represent averages; actual distribution of fertilizer and pesticide may vary. Many countries do not report pesticide usage information and measurement methods among those that do report vary. Some countries report pesticide data in terms of hectograms of active ingredients, others in terms of formulated products and others as sales of pesticide products. Please see footnotes for country specific notes. Data for organic agriculture is collected by IFOAM from a variety of sources, including member organizations, certification bodies and other institutions. Data collection methods vary depending on the institution and the country. Figures for percent of total agricultural land under organic management are calculated by IFOAM. Data on total agricultural land used in these calculations are different from those provided by FAO for total arable and permanent cropland. For more information on agricultural systems and a more complete explanation of some of the indicators listed here, please consult the searchable database section of EarthTrends: The Environmental Information Portal (http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/) or: Wood, S. et al. Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Agroecosystems. WRI: Washington, DC, 2000. SOURCES Arable and permanent cropland, tractor usage, irrigated land, fertilizer use and pesticide use, FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), FAOSTAT on-line statistical service. Available on-line at http://apps.fao.org . FAO: Rome, 2003. Organic agriculture, IFOAM: Minou Yussefi and Helga Willer (Editors). 2003. The World of Organic Agriculture - Statistics and Future Prospects - 2003. Tholey-Theley, Germany: International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Electronic version available at: http://www.ifoam.org.