Zhu Zhixin

Commissioner,

National Bureau of Statistics, China

 

 

1. Background

 

China is a large agricultural country and agriculture is the basis of both the national economy and the nation’s political, economic and social stability. Thus, dependable agriculture leads to extensive social stability. Only when agriculture is developed, and farmers are well off, will the entire country become prosperous and strong. Therefore, the Chinese Government has always regarded the issue of the development of the agricultural sector, rural areas and farmers, as a principal task. In accordance with the characteristics of national conditions and the main tasks that the Government must complete, it is essential to understand the basic data on national conditions and potential to support the appropriate governmental strategy in promoting agricultural and rural development and the livelihood of the farmers.

 

Since the policy of reform and opening to the outside world was put into effect, China has made considerable progress in the agricultural sector. At the same time, the issue of inaccurate basic agricultural data, which negatively impacted national macro-economic coordination became increasingly critical. There were over 200 million agricultural holdings having rural households as a mainstay, thus it was extremely difficult to collect data directly by standard statistical approaches. The data of many indicators of production conditions, and the intermediate input in the current agricultural statistical annual (quarterly report) reports, were obtained from bottom to top and level by level reports  were submitted on the basis of estimations at the village or township level. To a certain extent, these were different from the actual situation because of the lack of verification as to holdings. The market-oriented reform and development of the rural economy makes rural statistical units complex, therefore, a new and scientific approach must be used to reflect completely and systematically the rapid change in rural socio-economic data. It is the main function of an agricultural census to collect data from a large number of holdings distributed throughout the country. Therefore, an agricultural census must conform to the current decentralized composition of the agricultural economy in China, and be a scientific and effective approach in obtaining complete and accurate rural socio-economic data.

 

The combination of a regular census and frequent sampling surveys has become the basic statistical system in many countries of the world. Since the mid-nineteenth century, countries in Europe and Northern America began, one by one, setting up their agricultural census systems - most of them decennially. The world censuses of agriculture, promoted first by the International Institute of Agriculture and then by FAO, have been conducted six times throughout the twentieth century. Today, there are more than 100 countries participating in the world census of agriculture at set periods. With the change of agricultural management, FAO recommended that China participate in a national agricultural census, and took the initiative by providing assistance for its preparation.  By extensively adopting FAO definitions and standards, it was to be an effective way for China to actualize the connection between China's and international agricultural statistical practices. It would also be a positive step toward international cooperation, and the broadening of international contacts. Therefore, in October 1994, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China decided to conduct the First National Agricultural Census in 1997.

 

 

2. Main Activities

 

The statistical units of the First National Agriculture Census are all types of agricultural holdings: rural households, town and township enterprises, administrative villages and towns and townships within China (not including the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions). The census scope covered 38 items having 687 indicators. The time reference for point items was 1 January 1997. The time reference for period items was 1 January to 31 December 1996. The principal activities undertaken during the census period were as follows:

• A complete set of organizational and working networks was established. All related agencies, e.g. the State Council and the People's Governments at all levels established special management groups and census offices which were in charge of the organization and implementation of the census, respectively.

• The program for the First National Agriculture Census was formulated. The program included methodology, questionnaires, explanatory notes for indicators and detailed implementation regulations. All of the regions strictly followed this program.
• A qualified census team was recruited and trained. According to the requirements of the National Agricultural Census Office (NACO), 7.24 million census staff were recruited and trained through 140 thousand training courses. The indispensable census data was collected by this highly skilled, competent and hard-working team.
• Pilot censuses at all levels and in the various agricultural regions were carried out.  From March to April 1996, NACO organized a comprehensive pilot census at Zhongshan of Guangdong Province. Based on the experiences obtained from the pilot censuses, the census program was revised and improved. After the national pilot census, other pilot censuses were organized by different provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities), prefectures (cities), counties (cities), towns and townships. Through the pilot censuses, the staff accumulated practical experience, and established a sound basis for the smooth performance of the census.
• The large-scale field enumeration work was implemented. In January 1997, the field enumeration started nationwide at the same time, which involved more than seven million census staff members, 214 million rural households, 740 thousand administrative villages, 43 thousand towns and townships, and 1 400 thousand town and township enterprises. After the field enumeration, the quality check and mutual check were carried out, item by item, questionnaire by questionnaire, according to the relations and regulations on manual logical checks. If any problems were found, field staff re-interviewed the household, and revised the items accordingly.
• Manual tabulation of the main indicators and evaluation of the results were organized. In order to issue the results of the census as soon as possible, NACO selected 74 indicators for manual tabulation, level by level, and organized agricultural census offices at all levels to evaluate the results.
• The computer tabulation of the census data was completed. For the data entry of 214 million questionnaires of rural households, Optical Character Reader (OCR) techniques were adopted. Computer keyboard data entry was adopted for the other five questionnaires. The comprehensive tabulation was produced at the national, provincial and prefecture levels, respectively, in the light of the table formats provided by the “Data Tabulation Method of the First National Agricultural Census”. There were 1 400 table formats for comprehensive tabulation.
• The development of data was organized. NACO, by means of communiqués, news conferences, databases, internet and publications, provided the data from the First National Agriculture Census in China both domestically and internationally. By means of appraisal and competition, NACO also organized census offices at all levels to make concise analyses on special subjects. It carried out research by way of public competitive bidding; and compiled and published a research report utilizing the 60 best papers on the census examined and approved by a committee of experts.

 

3. Main Results

 

The scope of the census was vast, covering important items, such as cultivated land, the labour force, agricultural production conditions and agricultural and rural socio- economic development, etc. The census results reflect China’s actual rural situation, and permit a systematic, comprehensive and accurate understanding of the basic data on the agricultural sector and rural areas. They are as follows:

• Concerning the size and composition of China's rural households, the results of the census show that rural households engaged in agricultural production reached 190 million households, of which, households engaged only in agriculture accounted for 65.6 percent, and agricultural households engaged both in agriculture and non-agriculture took up 34.3 percent.
• Concerning the number of town and township enterprises, census results show that there were 1.4 million non-agricultural town and township enterprises and more than 20 million rural individual households involved in industrial and commercial activities.
• Regarding the number and translocation of the rural employed, there were 561 million rural employed, 425 million persons engaged in agriculture and 136 million persons engaged in non-agriculture. The number of the rural population employed away from their home towns or townships was 7.2 million, accounting for 12.8 percent of the total.
• For total areas of cultivated land, 1 950 million mu of cultivated land, of which, nearly 1 000 million mu are areas of steep slopes with temperatures of  25 degrees and above.
• Regarding the numbers of livestock, there were 366 million hogs, 105 million heads of cattle and buffalo and 233 million sheep and goats at the end of 1996.
• Regarding the quantity of main agricultural machinery and equipment, there were 677 800 large and medium-sized tractors, 11.795 million small tractors, 113 400 combine harvesters, 7.521 million motor-driven threshing machines and 4.588 million agricultural transport vehicles.
•  Regarding infrastructure facilities and community environment in rural areas, more than 90 percent of the villages had electricity and were accessible by postal service; villages accessible by road vehicles account for 84.7 percent, and villages accessible by telephone took up 47.5 percent.
• Census results show that there were 271 500 agronomists and technicians, taking up 0.64 percent of agricultural labourers.
• As to the size of town districts, there were 16 124 rural towns (not including towns above the county level managed by a city or a town with old or obsolete enterprises), accounting for 37.4 percent of total towns and townships; the average area of town districts was 2.42 sq. km; the average population in town districts was 4 520 persons.

 4. Meaning of Results

 

The First National Agriculture Census results have profound, practical and historic meaning in accelerating the developmental benefits of agriculture, rural areas, the national economy as a whole and in setting up a new rural statistical system.

 

4.1 China is a large agricultural country, therefore, conditions of the agricultural sector, rural areas and farmers are of primary national interest. Through the census, basic agricultural and rural data, such as the number of households engaged only in agriculture, households engaged in both agriculture and non-agriculture and non-agricultural households in rural counties has been understood. Accurate data on the number of agricultural holdings and areas of cultivated land has also been obtained. Thus, a basic data set that reflects the developmental status of agriculture and the rural economy has been acquired. The census has played a vital role in rural and social development and in scientific decision-making for the national economy in the following ways:

 

4.1.1 Through research and analysis of the data from the census, China's conditions are clear. The basic aspect to understanding China's national conditions more comprehensively and extensively is to have a good command of the data of the agricultural sector, rural areas and farmers. China has a large agricultural population, but is poor in soil, having few natural resources, such as cultivated land per capita. This reinforces the perception that China will be in the elementary stage of socialism for a long time. The census also shows that, with the implementation of the policy of reform and opening to the outside world, China has made outstanding changes in rural areas. The change in size and composition of agricultural holdings has accelerated. There are a large number of households engaged both in agriculture and in non-agriculture, and agricultural production activities are increasingly rich and varied; the translocation rate of rural labourers’ has accelerated in sectors and regions, a large number of labourers away from their hometowns to urban areas, and the phenomenon of households having their permanent residence registered in one village but not living in that village is increasing. The total amount of rural labour forces is in surplus, but there is a lack of high-skilled labour. There is great developmental change, such as size and degree of utilization of agricultural land, size and structure of the agricultural sector, size, type and industrial structure of town and township enterprises, development of agriculture through science and education, the service system of rural socialisation and construction of rural towns. All these changes produced important effects on the agricultural sector and rural areas as far as socio-economic, political and cultural aspects are concerned.

 

4.1.2 The First National Agriculture Census obtained a set of complete, systematic and comprehensive basic agricultural and rural data. Development of and research on the data will determine the principles and problems of China's agricultural and rural development. This will enable the Government to adopt measures for formulating national or regional agricultural and rural developmental strategy.

 

4.2 By providing the scientific basis for correcting erroneous rural statistical data through the First National Agriculture Census as a verification of the rural statistical system, methodology and data quality of the past. The results of the census show that some important data were inaccurate for a long time, and relatively quite different from reality. The obvious indicators are as follows: Areas of cultivated land as a result of the census are 19 500 million mu and 14 160 million mu in the annual report. There are some 500 million mu more of cultivated land than in the annual report. Compared with the data from the annual report in animal husbandry, the number of hogs, sheep and goats and cattle and buffaloes at the end of 1996 from the census is 19.9 percent, 21 percent and 18.6 percent lower than that of the annual report. Therefore, the census provided the scientific basis for correcting erroneous official statistics.  Today, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is, on the basis of the census data, organizing rural statistical departments and related agencies to reconcile census data with official statistics in a planned way.

 

4.3 The census has laid a fundamental basis for setting up and perfecting a rural statistical system that is in accordance with the socialist market economy, fulfills the requirement of new national economic accounts and is linked to international methods.

 

4.3.1 The census provided conditions for reforming and perfecting rural and socio-economic sampling survey system. The census obtained a set of relatively complete database of agricultural holdings. By utilizing this data set the NBS has adjusted current sampling units such as rural households, grain production and investment of rural fixed assets. Moreover, new sampling units were introduced at the beginning of 2000. Sample surveys were used in areas for cotton growing, animal husbandry, fisheries, fruit growing and the transformation of cultivated land, etc. It is imaginable that the reform measures would not be actualized if the census had not provided the sampling frames for households and villages.

 

4.3.2 The census has laid a fundamental basis for setting up and perfecting a rural statistical indicator system. The census of agriculture has determined census indicators, concepts, standards and definitions on the basis of principles that conform to international standards and practices and fulfills the requirements of the new national economic accounts.  Today, the reform in the statistical system, carried out by the Rural Survey Organizations, of the NBS, adopted those indicators, estimating methods, coverage and standards, etc., so as to meet the requirements of the new national economic account and rural reform and development.

 

4.3.3 Agricultural census teams were trained and experience was accumulated. There were 140 000 training courses held by the central and local census offices during the census and 7.24 million enumerators and supervisors trained. Meanwhile, valuable experience was acquired in preparation, publicity, field work and data processing, etc. This has provided a basis for further reform and for perfecting the rural statistical system.

 

4.4 The agricultural census provided accurate data for agricultural comparison and research between China and other countries. The First National Agriculture Census is one part of the world censuses of agriculture promoted by FAO, therefore it shares the same characteristics of international standards and practices. Through the census, other countries’ methodology was absorbed, i.e.: developing programs for PES, determining statistical units and scope, designing questionnaires, and determining and defining indicators. On the other hand, the results objectively reflected China’s agricultural and rural situation. All of the above-mentioned items provided guarantees for agricultural comparison and research between China and other countries.

 

 5. Basic Experiences

 

As the largest statistical activity in the world, the First National Agriculture Census in China has five basic characteristics:

 

1. Strong and powerful organization and leadership. The State Council and Government at all levels took the agricultural census work seriously, mobilizing persons, hearing reports and providing instructions. Government administrators at all levels personally organized census work. During the enumeration government officials personally undertook field work, nationwide 1 200 thousand visits, of which 240 visits were by provincial leaders and above, and 6 000 by prefecture leaders, thus establishing the census as a government procedure.
2. Regarding the wide range of publicity,  there were approximately 90 thousand television programs, 1 760 thousand radio broadcasts, 1 080 thousand articles and 36 million slogans issued. The publicity work was effective in dispelling doubts and winning the understanding and cooperation of the farmers.
3. Scientific working methods and means. In order to fulfill the gigantic systematic engineering task, agricultural census offices at all levels adopted scientific working methods, such as system theory, data theory, etc., to ensure that all working items were interconnected and operated efficiently. The OCR technique was used to process the census data the first time, and macro database for all rural households, villages towns and townships and town and township enterprises was established using advanced modern science and technology.
4. Regarding the necessary working conditions, to carry out the systematic engineering of the census, governments at all levels actively lay foundations to ensure the basic needs of the census, in accordance with the documentation issued by the State Council (State Council’s Document (1994) No. 60) including the poorer regions. 
5. A qualified working team. The smooth implementation of census work cannot be separated from the hard work of the thousands of enumerators and supervisors. In order to obtain authentic and reliable data, they faced fatigue and overcame all difficulties; they were careful and conscientious. Several touching episodes come to mind: some contributed their own money, some protected the census questionnaires through an earthquake, sacrificing their own belongings. Some of them remained at work when family members were sick. Many of them were still at work when sick themselves. Their respect, morale and outstanding achievement will go down in history, together with the immense achievement of the First National Agriculture Census.

 

In addition, the agricultural census acquired the support of FAO, the Italian Government, the Republic of Korea and the United States. This support not only significantly improved the conditions of agricultural census, it helped connect China's census of agriculture and practice to other countries as well, accumulating experience and rendering effective exploration for the standardization of China's statistical work.