Activity status: see economic activity status
Agricultural census: collection of structural data from agricultural holdings
Agricultural holder: person making the major decisions on the operations of the holding (paragraph 3.36). See also co-holder.
Agricultural holding: economic unit of agricultural production - the basic unit of enumeration in the agricultural census (paragraphs 3.23–3.35)
Agricultural household: a household whose largest source of income consists of income derived from agricultural production (paragraph 11.212)
Agricultural land: the total of arable land, permanent crops, and permanent meadows and pastures (paragraph 11.38)
Agro-forestry: farm management system involving growing trees in conjunction with crops and livestock production (paragraphs 11.318–11.319)
Aquacultural census: collection of structural data from all aquacultural production units
Aquacultural holding: an economic unit of aquacultural production under single management (paragraph 7.9)
Aquaculture: farming of aquatic organisms including fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and aquatic plants (paragraphs 11.293–11.295)
Arable land: land used in most years for growing temporary crops (paragraph 11.38).
Associated crops: temporary and permanent crops growing together on the same piece of land (paragraphs 11.109, 11.121)
Census: statistical collection involving the enumeration of all units (large sample-based collections are sometimes also referred to censuses)
Census core module: the primary agricultural census collection to provide key structural data, carried out on a complete enumeration or large sample basis (paragraph 1.16)
Census of agriculture and aquaculture: an agricultural census and an aquacultural census conducted as a combined field operation (paragraph 7.7)
Census supplementary module: a sample-based module undertaken in association with the core census module, to provide more detailed structural data than in the core module (paragraph 1.16)
Classification: collection or presentation of data in classes in a structured format, such as occupation groupings
Co-holder: person jointly making the major decisions on the operations of the holding with another person (paragraph 3.37). See also agricultural holder.
Compact plantation (permanent crop): plants and trees planted in a regular or systematic manner (paragraph 11.96)
Complete enumeration: collection of data from all units, rather than from just a sample of units
Core module: see census core module
Current agricultural statistics: ongoing agricultural statistics on such things as production and prices, as opposed to structural data collected in the agricultural census
Double cropping: see successive crops
Drainage: removal of excess water to improve agricultural productivity (paragraphs 11.89 – 11.90)
Economic activity status: a classification describing a person as employed, unemployed or not economically active (paragraphs 11.226–11.231)
Economically active: a person who is either employed or unemployed (paragraph 11.227)
Educational attainment: highest level of education achieved by a person (paragraphs 11.224–11.225)
Employed: a person with paid work or in self-employment (paragraph 11.235)
Employee: a person in paid employment (paragraph 11.242)
Enumeration area (EA): small geographic unit defined for census enumeration purposes (paragraphs 3.60–3.61)
Establishment: an economic unit operating in a single location, mainly engaged in a single productive activity (Appendix 1)
Enterprise: an economic unit under single management consisting of one or more than one establishment (Appendix 1)
Fertilizers: substances that supply plants with nutrients or enhance plant growth, containing at least 5% of the three primary nutrients (N, P2O5 and K2O) (paragraph 11.130)
Field: piece of land in a parcel separated by easily recognizable demarcation lines (paragraph 11.54)
Food security: see household food security
Forest: land with trees of height 5 metres or more with crown cover of more than 10% (paragraph 11.35).
Frame: the basis used for identifying all the statistical units to be enumerated in a statistical collection (paragraphs 3.53–3.63)
Genetically Modified Organism: organism containing genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology (paragraph 11.183)
Good Agricultural Practices: practices that ensure agricultural products are of high quality, safe, and produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way (paragraph 11.178)
Gross cropped area: the total area of all crops grown, as opposed to the area of land cropped (paragraph 11.28). See also net cropped area.
Holder: see agricultural holder
Holding: see agricultural holding
Household: group of people living together, making common arrangements for food and other essentials of living (paragraphs 3.26–3.27)
Household food security: the situation where all members of a household at all times are consuming enough safe and nutritious food (paragraph 11.269)
Industry: the activity of the establishment in which an employed person works.
Integrated statistical programme: in the context of agricultural censuses, the development of the agricultural census as the central component of the agricultural statistics system
Inter-planted crops: one temporary crop planted between rows of another temporary crop (paragraph 11.106)
Irrigation: purposely providing land with water, other than rain, for agricultural purposes (paragraphs 11.69–11.71)
Item: a particular characteristic being measured in the agricultural census
ISIC: International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (Appendixes 1, 2)
Landless holding: agricultural holding with no land (paragraph 11.41)
Land tenure: arrangements under which a holder operates land on a holding (paragraphs 11.47–11.51)
Land use: classification of land according to the activity undertaken on the land (paragraphs 11.20–11.39)
Livestock: animals (including birds and insects) kept or reared in captivity mainly for agricultural purposes (paragraph 11.149)
Livestock census: enumeration of livestock holdings undertaken in some countries separately from the agricultural census
Mineral fertilizers: fertilizers manufactured from inorganic materials (paragraph 11.132)
Mixed cropping: several temporary crops grown simultaneously as a mixture on the same piece of land (paragraphs 11.107–11.108)
Module: a separate component of the agricultural census - a modular approach is used for the agricultural census, with core and supplementary modules (paragraph 1.15)
Multi-stage sampling: sampling scheme in which the sample is selected in stages (paragraph 10.7). See also single-stage sampling.
National accounts: summary of national income and product statistics, including Gross Domestic Product (Appendix 1). See also System of National Accounts
Net cropped area: the area of land cropped, as opposed to the total area of all crops (paragraph 11.28). See also gross cropped area
Non-sampling errors: all types of errors in statistics, other than sampling errors, including data collection errors, reporting errors, and data processing mistakes. See also sampling errors
Occupation: a classification of the type of work done by a person - not to be confused with the industry in which a person works (paragraphs 11.247–11.252)
Organic agriculture: agricultural production system based on specific standards for achieving socially, ecologically and economically sustainable agro-ecosystems (paragraphs 11.180–11.182)
Organic fertilizers: fertilizers prepared from processed plant and animal material (paragraph 11.134)
Other wooded land: land with tree/shrub/bush cover less than that required to be classified as a forest (paragraph 11.35).
Own-account agricultural production: a household characteristic, indicating that the household contains one or more agricultural holdings (paragraph 3.28)
Parcel: piece of land of one tenure type entirely surrounded by other land not operated by the holding (paragraphs 11.53–11.54).
Permanent crops: long-term crops that do not have to be re-planted for several years (paragraph 11.33)
Pesticide: materials intended to kill or control pests in plants or animals, including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and rodenticides (paragraphs 11.176–11.177)
Plot: part or whole of a field on which a specific crop or crop mixture is grown (paragraph 11.54)
Population census: the collection of demographic and socio-economic data for all persons in a country, normally undertaken every ten years
Programme of agricultural surveys: in the context of the agricultural census, agricultural surveys carried out based on the agricultural holding unit from the agricultural census (Chapter 9)
Random sampling: sampling method used for sample surveys, in which each unit within the scope of the survey has a fixed, but not necessarily the same, probability of selection in the sample (paragraph 10.2)
Reference period: the time period to which a given data item collected in a census or survey refers - for example, an agricultural year for crops; the day of enumeration for livestock (paragraphs 3.72–3.74)
Rural household: household living in an area designated as a rural area, often determined from the population census (paragraph 8.10)
Sample survey: the collection of data from a sample of units, rather than all units as in a census
Sampling errors: the errors in statistics obtained from a sample survey because data are collected from only a sample of units. See also non-sampling errors
Sampling frame: the means by which all in-scope units are identified for a sample survey (Chapter 10)
Scattered plants (permanent crops): plants and trees scattered around a holding and so preventing estimation of the area (paragraph 11.123)
Scope: the geographical area or types of units covered by a statistical collection (paragraphs 3.6–3.15)
Sector: the institutional category (such as household, corporation, cooperative, government) to which the holding belongs (paragraphs 11.7–11.10)
Shifting cultivation: cultivation whereby land is cultivated for some years before being abandoned (paragraph 11.60)
Single-stage sampling: sampling scheme in which the sample is selected directly from a list of units covered by the survey (paragraph 10.7). See also multi-stage sampling
SNA: see System of National Accounts
Soil degradation: decline in soil quality caused by natural processes or improper use by humans (paragraphs 11.64–11.65)
Statistical unit: the unit for which data are collected in a census or survey - the agricultural holding is the main statistical unit for the agricultural census
Status in employment: the classification of a job held by a person according to whether it is as an employee, own-account worker, etc. (paragraphs 11.241–11.246)
Stunting: refers to the situation where the height of a child is too low for his/her age (paragraph 11.290)
Structural data: data on the basic organizational structure of agricultural holdings that do not change quickly over time, such as farm size and land use
Sub-holder: a person to whom the holder delegates the authority to sub-manage a sub-holding (paragraph 3.45)
Sub-holding: a part of a holding managed by a particular person in the household (paragraphs 3.44)
Successive crops: two or more temporary crops grown successively on the same piece of land at different times during the year (paragraphs 11.104–11.105)
Supplementary module: see census supplementary module
Survey: see sample survey
System of National Accounts (SNA): an international national accounting framework for reporting national income and product statistics (Appendix 1)
Table: the primary output of a statistical collection, involving the summarizing of results in tabular form
Tabulation programme: programme of the output tables to be produced from a statistical collection (Chapter 12)
Temporary crops: crops with a less than one-year growing cycle (paragraphs 11.27–11.28)
Theme: the broad subject heading describing the content of a census supplementary module or an agricultural survey
Underweight: refers to the situation where a child's weight is too low for his/her age (paragraph 11.290)
Unemployment: a situation where a person of working age is: (i) without work, (ii) available for work, and (iii) seeking work (paragraphs 11.237–11.239)
Wasting: refers to the situation where a child's weight is too low for his/her height (paragraph 11.290)
