Farm-level data on sustainability

KEY POINTS

Collecting farm-level data on sustainability

EU Member States are responsible for compiling the data on their territory and each must appoint a liaison agency, which organises the data collection from different sources (such as farms, accounting offices and national registers) and electronically forwards the data to the European Commission.

A national committee is responsible for selecting the returning holdings (i.e. the holdings taking part in the data network). Where a Member State is composed of several divisions, the national committee may rely on regional committees.

Farm returns

Each participating farm is subject to a farm return, containing all the required information. The data to be collected and delivered to the Commission are identical for all Member States, irrespective of how they organise the data collection process.

Data sharing

Member States can use national registers and data sources to compile the information included in the farm returns to avoid asking for it directly from farmers.

At the EU level, Member States have to deliver links or data that can enable the Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) returning holding to be related to two datasets: Data for monitoring and evaluation and Integrated administration and control system. The purpose is to complement the farm returns with the content of these datasets at the farm level.

The Commission has the power to adopt delegated and implementing acts.

The delegated powers relate, among other things, to:

• adapting the list of FSDN divisions (some Member States represent a single division while some, particularly the larger ones, are broken down into smaller territorial units, such as regions or provinces);
• setting the rules for fixing the economic size of returning holdings participating in the sample and for the plan for selecting the returning holdings;
• determining the main typology classification of EU agricultural holdings;
• setting the rules and conditions enabling the Commission to grant access to pseudonymised data for research purposes.

As a result of this delegated power, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1417 lays down rules supplementing some aspects of Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009.

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2746 lays down rules for applying Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009. These include the detailed description of the group of data to be collected in each farm return, data sharing provisions and the economic thresholds applied in each Member State.

The data are covered by strict confidentiality rules and can only be used to provide sustainability analysis. For example, they cannot be used by authorities for tax or compliance purposes.

The Commission is assisted by the Committee for the Farm Sustainability Data Network, composed of representatives of all Member States.