An Integrated Agriculture Information System (IAIS) adapted to EU requirements should have a few essential elements, as follows:
Agricultural Statistics
In the EU, comparable agricultural statistics from all Member States are important in determining the development of agricultural policy in the European Union. Today the European agriculture statistics system (EASS) contains more than 50 sets of data that are transmitted to Eurostat by National Statistics Institutions.
The system contains 7 statistical domains:
- Structural data, b. Agri-monetary data, c. Crop production data, d. Organic farming data, e. Permanent crop data, f. Animal products and livestock data and g. Agri-environmental data.
In addition, DG AGRI manages the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), a survey that is very closely linked to the EASS, while not officially being European statistics. In 2015, a strategy for agricultural statistics for 2020 and beyond was designed (and agreed upon) to modernise this area of statistics.
In Kosovo, the Law No. 04/L-036 on statistics was adopted by Kosovo’s Parliament in October 2011. According to this law, Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) has primary responsibility to produce official statistics. The law regulates the fundamental principles and provides the legal framework for the organization, production and publication of official statistics in Kosovo. In addition, this law deals with data collection, processing, storage, privacy and protection of official data.
KAS has seven regional offices and includes the Department of Agriculture and Environment Statistics (DAES) which covers three fields of statistics: (i) agriculture, (ii) agro-monetary and (iii) environment statistics. Agriculture statistics are mainly collected through an annual Agricultural Household Surveys (AHS) which produces different indicators for agriculture sector such as: agricultural population and its structure; agricultural areas used crop production; livestock and livestock products; forestry; use of fertilizers and manure; agricultural machinery; labour in agriculture; and spending on farm. Agro-monetary statistics cover the following components: prices and price index of agricultural products (monthly); economic accounts in agriculture (annual); labour force in agriculture; and incomes in the agriculture sector.
Kosovo Agency of Statistics has annual publications on agriculture which include the Economic Accounts for Agriculture, publication based on two surveys carried out by KAS, namely (i) the Agricultural Household Survey and (ii) Agricultural Price Statistics. An Agriculture Census was also carried out by KAS in 2014. According to the art. 27 of the Law 04/L-036 on official statistics of Kosovo, KAS responsible for creating, storing and keeping a number of statistical registers which include the “the business register” and “the register of agriculture holdings“.
Agriculture statistics for the needs of the MAFRD are collected by its Department of Economic Analysis and Agricultural Statistics (DEAAS) which is in charge with collection and analysis of statistical and economic data for the sector. DEAAS has two divisions, namely:
(i) Economic Analysis Division, in charge, inter alia, with sectorial analyses for agro rural sector and market and trade analysis, and
(ii) Division of Agricultural Statistics, in charge with the statistical database for agriculture section, database management and preparation of reports on trade, review/analysis of statistical data, coordination with KAS, establishment and maintenance of Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and Integrated Agriculture and Information (IAIS) systems, as well as with participation in the process of approximation of legislation and practices in the area of agricultural statistics. DEAAS drafts the necessary templates and instructions, organises FADN survey training sessions for enumerators, collects data, controls them logically, processes, analyses, compiles spreadsheets and publishes data. It aims at applying accurately the international standards, methodology and EUROSTAT Nomenclature.
DEAAS produces annually a report called “Green Report” which provides a comprehensive overview on the country’s agricultural sector, and it is used to guide the development strategy and policies for the sector. Since 2016, this department also publishes annually the “Economic Catalogue for Agricultural Products“, a catalogue which provides an overview of the costs for cultivation of some agricultural products and also presents the profitability price and other indicators of relevance for the agricultural business performance. The data used in this catalogue are taken directly from individual farmers or farmer groups, as well as from Kosovo Agency of Statistics, the existing Market Information System, and from experts.
MAFRD also provides annually to the European Commission (DG AGRI) data on the imports and exports of the agricultural products from, respectively to the European Union.
Key challenges regarding agricultural statistics are availability and reliability of data. Discrepancies continue to exist between EUROSTAT and the KAS figures on EU-Kosovo agricultural trade. Statistics are essential for evidence-based decision making, and the lack of reliable statistics in Kosovo needs to be addressed as a priority.
Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN)
The Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) is a European system of sample surveys conducted every year to collect accountancy data from farms, with the aim of monitoring the income and business activities of the EU agricultural holdings. FADN is an important informative source for understanding the impact of the measures taken under the Common Agricultural Policy on different types of agricultural holdings. Derived from national surveys, the FADN is the only source of microeconomic data based on harmonized bookkeeping principles. After their validation, data aggregated yearly are made available in the online public database, and analyses and reports based on FADN data are published on the FADN website.
In Kosovo, the institution in charge for the collection, processing, analysing and publication of FADN is MAFRD, namely the Division of Agricultural Statistics of its Department of Economic Analysis and Agricultural Statistics (DEAAS).
FADN was established in Kosovo in the year 2004 as a pilot project which involved 50 farms. Kosovo’s FADN has been gradually developed, the FADN sample now including 1250 farms. FADN data are collected from private farms which are not obliged to have book-keeping in place. Administrative Instruction no. 06/2011 determines the criteria for the farms to be included in the system of farm accountancy, for the establishment of the data collection network, agriculture household accountancy and for the identification of the annual income.
The small average size of farms in Kosovo, the many subsistence farmers and the large informal part of the agricultural sector complicate data gathering for the Farm Accountancy Data Network. MAFRD is working to improve and harmonize the FADN system with the EU standards.
The National Plan for Implementation of the Stabilisation and Association agreement (March 2016) envisages the following midterm measures for agriculture sector:
- To issue by-laws for implementing the Law on FADN; and
- To create an Integrated Agricultural Information System (IAIS) that provides well developed control system modules, integrated management rights module and the accounting module, as well as connecting them to each other.
Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS)
The European Commission closely monitors the price situation and markets developments for agricultural commodities and food and publishes various reports throughout the year. Inter alia, a monthly summary of commodity price data for the most representative agricultural products and consumer food prices, at EU and world level, is published by DG AGRI, with the purpose to give an indication on the most recent price developments. Also, DG AGRI publishes monthly EU agriculture products’ prices in excel format, for the most representative products, as notified by Member States. Specific analysis on the evolution of the World and EU agricultural markets are prepared every year and published in the form of Agricultural Markets Briefs.
With regards to Kosovo’s Market Information System, Kosovo’s Law no. 03/L-098 on agriculture and rural development and Law 04/L-090 which amends it envisage “building and implementation of market information system“, as well as “creation and maintenance of necessary data base” within the Agriculture Development Agency (ADA). They also mention that “the Information system on market prices consists in collecting, applying and publishing of the data on the prices for agricultural and food products“, “the Ministry shall determine the representative market for the agricultural and food products, natural persons or legal entities that will provide actual data by determining the type, volume and time of data collection“, and that “information system on market prices is established and determined by the Ministry with a sub normative act“. With regards to the information from other databases, it is mentioned that “the Ministry can also use other databases kept by institutions, public agencies, and other authorized authorities” and that “the Ministry receives data from other institutions such as maps, photos and digital orto-photos according to the procedures set by the law” but the procedures referred are not clear.
Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS)
IACS is the most important system for the management and control of payments to farmers made by the Member States in application of the Common Agricultural Policy. It provides for a uniform basis for controls and, among other requirements, it covers the administrative and on-the-spot controls of applications and the IT system which supports the national administration in carrying out their functions. In physical terms, IACS consists of:
- a number of computerized and interconnected databases, in particular (i) a system for the identification of all agricultural parcels in Member States called Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS); (ii) a system for the unique identification of farmers, the so called farmer’s register; (iii) a computerized database for animals in Member States where animal-based aid schemes apply; and (iv) a system for identification of payment entitlements in Member States applying the Basic Payment Scheme, and
- IT systems facilitating the smooth running of the IACS’s steps, for submitting/receiving aid applications and for enabling the national administration to perform controls and cross-checks of data received from farmer through his/her aid application.
Article 12 of Kosovo’s Law 04/L-090 which amends Law no. 03/L-098 on agriculture and rural development, states, inter alia, that the Agriculture Development Agency is responsible for implementing agriculture and rural development policies and for building and functioning of IACS.
Kosovo has currently in place a so-called “Simplified Integrated Administration and Control System” (sIACS) which is rather well developed and was established and upgraded with EU support. The system is called “simplified” because it does not include the attributes required for addressing the Cross Compliance (i.e. Statutory Management Requirements, Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions) and agri-environmental requirements/conditions to be considered under the rural development programmes.
Kosovo’s Law no. 03/L-098 on agriculture and rural development and Law 04/L-09 mentions a number of nine registers/databases to be established by MAFRD, namely: (i) a farm register; (ii) a register of producers and processors of agricultural and food products; (iii) a register for agricultural land use; (iv) a livestock register; (v) a register of the traders of agricultural products and of agricultural inputs; (vi) a register for less developed areas; (vii) a beneficiary register; (viii) SLPIS register; and (ix)registers for less favoured areas. The law also mentions that “the Ministry by sub-legal act shall determine the terms and the ways for maintenance, security and administrative procedures of database“. Such act has not been issued yet.
Kosovo’s current Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) established with EU support enables the digitization of all parcels of agricultural crops subsidized by the ADA per digitalized surface. LPIS is also connected with the land cadastre, and through geo-portal, the data on plots are used, while the LPIS-mobile is a LPIS module, which is used by the inspectors on site. Through this module the inspectors see all parcels that have applied for subsidies in a digitalized mode. Also, this module is linked with GPS. Through LPIS, a system application has been filed for 27 crops in 2014 and now the MAFRD possesses outdated orthophotos.
Farmers Register is one of the components of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) system. A fully functional electronic Farmers Register was established with EU support. Staff from MAFRD, Kosovo Agency of Statistics and municipalities was trained to operate IACS. Farmers Register represents a very important tool for administration of payments, controls, and overall monitoring of the situation in the agriculture sector. For the first time in Kosovo, data collection for the Farm Register started in 2011 during the campaign for the payment scheme 2011-2012. The responsibility regarding farmer registration is held by the Paying Agency/Agriculture Development Agency. Nevertheless, the task of receiving farmers’ applications for registration and enter the data in the system is delegated to the Agricultural Officers in the 38 Municipalities of Kosovo.
Kosovo’s existing Farm Register is integrated with the simplified Land Parcel Identification System (sLPIS) and provides user management for the later. Coordinates of each registered farm are displayed inside sLPIS on top of the orthophoto raster layer. Conversely, sLPIS can be used to find the coordinates of any farmer location (residence or farm). The Farm Register displays summary information about the farmer, information taken from various administrative data sources which includes: the number of vineyard cadastre parcels, the number of parcels and the type of crops claimed for subsidies, the number and kind of animals claimed for subsidies, etc. The Farm Register was developed using local programming expertise and open-source technologies. It stores all the data and information foreseen in the MAFRD Administrative Instruction No 7/2011, as well as statistical information about the farmers and the farms.
