On the Micro Census of Agriculture in Russia

Abstract

In this article, the author outlines results of the 2016 Russian Census of Agriculture (VSHP-2016) and goes in detail reviewing questions related to the micro censuses of agriculture that in line with the Federal Law № 411-FZ from 1 December 2014 are conducted five years after a decennial agricultural census. This type of sample federal statistical survey of individual agricultural census items will require at least 30 percent of them to be selected.The article explores various ways to solve technical issues of conducting micro census. There is an alternative approach to conducting an agricultural micro census that focuses not on selecting individual census items but rather on municipal districts (urban districts), in which it is recommended to conduct a complete survey. Results of such sufficiently informative and less costly survey can, in the author’s opinion, without large sampling errors help identify new trends and structural shifts in the development of agriculture in the constituent entities of theRussian Federation, including their municipal units. It also allows for getting information on the size, composition and dynamics of its resources amidst the transition of all categories of farms to market relations and implementation of state target programs.