Since its establishment, FAO has promoted national censuses of agriculture through the 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1990 Programmes for the World Census of Agriculture (WCA).

 The Programme for the World Census of Agriculture 2000 is intended to assist countries by providing definitions, concepts, standards and guidelines for censuses in the decade 1996-2005 in order to generate a data base of internationally comparable figures, such as number of farms by size, number of livestock by type and age/sex classification and land use by crops and agricultural inputs. The Census Programme can be considered as the means to achieve harmonization of national practices: FAO encourages countries to follow the Programme as closely as national conditions and practices allow.

 The Programme has been prepared by the Statistics Division of FAO in collaboration with many experienced agricultural statisticians all over the world and has been discussed and elaborated in various international meetings. FAO is grateful to all who have provided inputs and hopes member countries will find it facilitates their conduct of national censuses of agriculture so as to advance their quantified knowledge of the agricultural sector.

• FOREWORD
• CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION (1.1 - 1.19)
•  Background (1.1 - 1.8)
•  Census of agriculture in an integrated statistical programme (1.9 - 1.16)
•  Basic characteristics of the WCA 2000 Programme (1.17 - 1.19)
• CHAPTER 2- INITIAL PLANNING FOR TAKING A CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE (2.1-2.7)
•  Developing the census programme (2.1 - 2.3)
•  Organization (2.4 - 2.5)
•  Statement of goals and objectives (2.6 - 2.7)
• CHAPTER 3 - GUIDELINES FOR TAKING A CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE (3.1- 3.60)
•  Workplan (3.1)
•  Budget and expenditure control (3.2 -3.3)
•  Census publicity (3.4 - 3.5)
•  Staff recruitment (3.6 - 3.8)
•  Questionnaire (3.9 - 3.11)
•  Tabulation plan (3.12 - 3.16)
•  Cartographic preparation (3.17 - 3.19)
•  Holding list (3.20)
•  Instructions and training for enumerators (3.21 - 3.22)
• Instructions and training for supervisors (3.23 - 3.25)
•  Pretesting and pilot census (3.26 - 3.28)
•  Census enumeration (3.29 - 3.31)
•  Data processing (3.32 - 3.51)
•  Quality checks and post enumeration surveys (3.52 - 3.53)
•  Dissemination programme (3.54 - 3.57)
•  Research needs (3.58 - 3.60)
• CHAPTER 4- METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS (4.1 - 4.32)
•  Objectives (4.1 - 4.7)
•  Census scope (4.8 - 4.12)
•  Statistical unit (4.13)
•  Coverage (4.14 - 4.15)
•  Role of women in agriculture (4.16)
•  Frequency (4.17)
•  Time reference (4.18)
•  Enumeration period  (4.19)
•  Complete or sample enumeration (4.20 - 4.24)
•  Census frame (4.25 -  4.32)
• CHAPTER 5 - PROPOSED CENSUS ITEMS (5.1 - 5.137)
•  Introduction (5.1 - 5.4)
•  Category 01: Identification (5.5 - 5.13)
•  Category 02: General Characteristics (5.14 - 5.25)
•  Category 03: Demographic Characteristics (5.26 - 5.35)
•  Category 04: Employment (5.36 - 5.51)
•  Category 05: Land and Water (5.52 - 5.88)
•  Category 06: Crops (5.89 - 5.113)
•  Category 07: Livestock (5.114 - 5.118)
•  Category 08: Machinery and Equipment (5.119 - 5.126)
•  Category 09: Buildings and Other Structures (5.127 - 5.131)
•  Category 10: Other Activities (5.132 - 5.137)
• CHAPTER 6- TABULATION PROGRAMME (6.1 - 6.67)
•  General considerations (6.1 - 6.17)
•  Classes for main classification criteria (6.18 - 6.34)
•  Classes for other characteristics (6.35 - 6.64)
•  Check list of cross tabulations (6.65 - 6.67)
• CROSS TABULATIONS CHECK LIST
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX 1 -ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
• APPENDIX 2 - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION OF ALL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES - Explanatory note on agricultural activities
• APPENDIX 3 - ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CROPS, BOTANICAL NAME AND CODE NUMBER
• APPENDIX 4 - CROP LIST

A Census of Agriculture is a large-scale, periodic, statistical operation for the collection of quantitative information on the structure of Agriculture.

The word "census" implies a complete enumeration of all agricultural holdings. However, by extension, it can be conducted by a sample enumeration, provided the sample is large enough to generate sub-national data.