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Based on the results of the Census of Agriculture 2020, the total number of holdings amounted to 34.046, of which 25.738 are pure crop, 5.392 are mixed and 2.916 are pure livestock. The total agricultural area was estimated at 1.462.879 decares (about 1.463 km²), of which 1.341.359 decares (about 1.341 km²) are utilised agricultural area.

Holders or Managers of the Holdings

Out of the total of 34.046 holdings, 33.189 holdings (97,5%) belong to natural persons (individual or shared ownership), 56 to the public or the government and 801 operate as companies, associations or in another form. The distribution of holdings in the various districts is presented in Table 1 and refers to the place of the holder’s residence and not to the place of the location of the holding.

The average age of the holders or managers of the holdings is 63 years old. Based on their age distribution, 2,4% of the holdings were managed by persons under 35 years old, 20,6% by persons aged between 35 and 54 years, 59,6% by persons between the ages of 55 and 74 and 17,4% by persons aged 75 years old and over.

Land Tenure and Land Use

Out of the total utilised agricultural area, 57,4% is operated on a rental basis (769.973 decares), 41,6% is privately owned (557.460 decares), 0,7% is common land or of other status (10.006 decares) and 0,3% is jointly owned (3.921 decares).

Areas cultivated with outdoor temporary crops cover 75,9% of the total utilised agricultural area, 22,0% is covered by outdoor permanent crops, 1,7% by permanent grasslands, 0,4% is greenhouse areas under glass or high accessible cover and the remaining 0,1% is covered by kitchen gardens. Detailed data are presented in Table 2 below.

The largest area of the temporary crops outdoor is occupied by plants that are harvested green and intended mainly for animal feed or grazing with 518.658 decares, followed by the various types of cereals for the production of grain with 278.733 decares.

The largest area of the permanent crops outdoor is occupied by olive plantations with 120.686 decares, followed by vineyards with 65.997 decares and citrus fruits with 34.230 decares.

The total irrigable area amounts to 381.250 decares or 28,4% of the total utilised agricultural area. The irrigated area reaches 266.076 decares, i.e., 19,8% of the total utilised agricultural area.

Organic farming methods, that are either applied and certified or are in the transition period for certification, are implemented in 1.246 holdings and cover 54.650 decares, i.e., 4,1% of the utilised agricultural area.

Livestock

Cattle-breeding holdings number 311, with 83.561 bovine animals and pig-breeding holdings number 156, with 323.522 animals. The total number of holdings with sheep is 1.509, with a population of 327.882 heads while 1.587 holdings manage 232.831 goats. Regarding poultry, there are 6.450 holdings raising 4.730.039 poultry. The largest number of poultry (3.895.713 heads) is reared for meat production and constitutes 82,4% of the total. Laying hens constitute 16,1% of the total (759.732 heads) and other poultry 1,6% of the total (74.594 heads).

Employment

In 2020, a total of 65.533 holders and family members were employed on the crop and livestock holdings, of which 65,4% were males (42.890 persons) and 34,6% females (22.643 persons) and with a total of 2.798.060 working days. Permanent employees numbered 5.993 persons (85,9% males and 14,1% females), while seasonal workers numbered 16.356 persons (41,0% males and 59,0% females).

Based on the results of the Census, it appears that the working days of the family workforce constitute 62,5% of the total number of working days in agriculture and livestock. Permanent employees account for 35,3% of the total and seasonal workers for 2,2%.

Methodological Information

Objective

The Census of Agriculture aims to collect information to examine trends in the structure of agricultural and livestock holdings in order to provide the EU with the necessary information for designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other related policies. The information relates to the structure and types of agricultural and livestock holdings and the characteristics of their holders, to farm fragmentation, land tenure and use, cultivated areas, number of animals by breed and age, animal housing, manure application and storage techniques as well as rural development measures. Also, information is collected on the characteristics of the holders (age, gender, legal status, agricultural training, main occupation, etc.), the labour force of the holdings, including other gainful activities as well as production methods, environmental aspects, etc.

Coverage

The enumerating unit is the agricultural or livestock or mixed holding, which is defined as a single unit, both technically and economically, that has a single management and that undertakes economic activities in agriculture

The Census 2020 covered every agricultural or livestock holding in the Republic of Cyprus that has:

• At least two (2) decares of utilised agricultural area or at least one hundred square meters (100m²) of greenhouse or at least one (1) decare vineyards or at least one hundred square meters (100m²) mushrooms regardless from the title deeds (type of tenure) and the location or,
• Owns animals and in particular one (1) or more cows or a total of two (2) or more bovine animals, of any kind and age, or a total of five (5) or more "small" animals (sheep, goats, pigs), of any age and gender, or fifty (50) or more poultry (chickens, hens, turkeys, ducks, geese) or five (5) or more ostriches or twenty (20) or more beehives or ten (10) or more breeding rabbit females.

Data collection

The Census is conducted every 10 years and every 3 years as a sample survey. The data collection for the 2020 Census took place during the period September 2020 - May 2021 under Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 and the relevant EU guidelines. The data collection started with personal interviews and the filling in of paper questionnaires, as planned, but due to the pandemic, the collection method was changed for the period November 2020 – February 2021 to telephone interviews.

Reference period

The reference period for land characteristics refers to areas used in the period of 1st September 2019 - 31st August 2020. The reference day for variables on livestock is 31st December 2020. The reference period for variables on labour force is the 12-month period of 1st September 2019 – 31st August 2020.

Definitions

Holder: Is the natural person, group of natural persons or legal person on whose account and in whose name the holding is operated and who is legally and economically responsible for the holding. It is clarified that the concept of the holder of the holding should not be confused with that of the owner of the land or the animals of the holding. The holder may be the owner of the holding or the tenant or hereditary long-term tenant or manager of a third party's property.

Utilised agricultural area: Includes the agricultural area cultivated or exploited by the holding, regardless of type of tenure (owned, rented, etc.) and covered by temporary crops, permanent crops, greenhouses, kitchen gardens, permanent pastures and grazings and fallow land up to 5 years. It also includes rough grazings that had been used by animals of the farm during the reference period.

Temporary crops: Includes areas worked (ploughed or tilled) regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation, which means that the crops are alternated on a certain plot in a planned pattern or sequence in successive crop years so that crops of the same species are not grown without interruption on the same field. In other words, these are crops that are changed annually. Temporary crops consist of cereal for the production of grain, dry pulses for the production of grain, root crops, industrial crops, fresh vegetables, melons and strawberries, flowers and ornamental plants, plants harvested green, seeds and seedlings, fallow land and other annual crops.

Permanent crops: They are woody plants, i.e., trees or shrubs, not grown in rotation, occupying the soil and yielding harvests for several consecutive years. The products of various species of trees or shrubs are usually intended for human consumption. Permanent crops consist of olive plantations, pome fruits, stone fruits, fruits of subtropical and tropical climate zones, nuts, berries, carobs, citrus, vineyards, nurseries and other permanent crops.

Greenhouses under glass or high accessible cover: Areas of crops, which for the whole of their period of growth or for the predominant part of it are covered by greenhouses or fixed high cover or mobile high cover or mobile high cover (glass or rigid or flexible plastic).

Permanent grassland: Areas used permanently (for several consecutive years, normally 5 years or more) to grow herbaceous fodder, forage or energy purpose crops, through cultivation (sown) or naturally (selfseeded), and which is not included in the crop rotation on the holding.

Kitchen gardens: Small plots of land that are usually located near the home of the holder, normally separate from the rest of the agricultural land, and their production is intended for self-consumption by the holders and their householdd and not for sale.

Irrigable area: Is the maximum utilised agricultural area which could be irrigated in the reference period using the equipment and the quantity of water normally available on the agricultural holding, regardless of whether it was irrigated or not. Areas in greenhouses or under high accessible cover and kitchen gardens are excluded.

Irrigated area: Is the total of the areas that were actually irrigated, at least once, during the reference period. Areas in greenhouses or under high accessible cover and kitchen gardens are excluded.

Labour force: The set of natural persons who, during a growing season, were involved in any way in the operations (management, technical or manual work) of the holding that are required for each part of production, as well as for the general needs or the management of production from a marketing point of view.

Permanent employees: Persons who worked on the holding regularly, all weeks during the 12-month reference period, regardless of the length of the working week, and received remuneration (salary, earnings or payments in kind) from the holding. Permanent employees are also the persons who worked regularly for part of this 12-month period and were unable to work for the entire period either because the type of crops require fewer working months, or because of illness, military service, accident or death, or because there was a termination of employment in the holding in the 12-month period, or due to a definitive cessation of the holding's operations due to disasters, e.g., floods, fire etc.

Seasonal workers: Persons who did not work on the farm regularly, during all the weeks of the 12-month reference period, but only for a short period of time, or for short periods of time, because they are hired only for particular type of work, such as harvesting of grapes or gathering of potatoes, tobacco, etc.

For more information:

CYSTAT Portal, subtheme Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing , Predefined Tables (Excel), Methodological Information

Contact:

Loukia Alexandrou: Tel: 22605124, E-mail: lalexandrou@cystat.mof.gov.cy

(NG/SCH)