1995-1996 Census of Agriculture
Reference Period and Date
The Census of Agriculture had as reference period for the production and value information the interval between the 1st of August 1995 and the 31st of July 1996. Data on ownership, area and people employed refer to December 31st1995. Data on livestock, crops and forestry refer to July 31st1996. Information on investments, financing, expenditure, revenue, production and other relative to the workings of agricultural establishments is also relative to that period.
Concepts of the Characteristics Presented
Establishment
It was considered as an agricultural establishment any continuous tract of land, independently of size or situation (urban or rural), composed by one or more parcels, under a sole producer, where agricultural exploitation was under way, that is, land cultivation with permanent and temporary crops, including greens and flowers; breeding and fattening of large- and medium-sized animals; raising of small-sized animals; forestry and reforestation; and vegetal product extraction.
Total area
It included the totality of lands that composed the establishment, considering the situation at the Census date. The establishment whose area covered more than one municipality was included whole in the municipality where the respective management seat was located or, missing that, where the largest part of the area was located. Data referring to area are presented in hectares, converted from the various land-measuring units still in use in the national territory.
Land ownership
Agricultural establishments were listed according to land ownership, in the following categories; Individual, Condominium or Society of People, Limited Liability Corporation, Limited Partnership, Cooperative, Government Agency and Charity or Religious Institution.
Legal conditions of the lands
The constitution of the establishments was investigated in relation to the legal condition of the lands, according to the following types: owner-occupied (including through usufruct, quitrent and freehold), leased (through payment of a fixed amount of money or quota-share of production), sharecropping (through payment of share of production obtained - one half, one third, one fourth etc.), occupied (for free, with or without the owner's consent).
Producer
It has been considered as producer the individual or company detaining the responsibility of exploiting the establishment, whether owned by the producer or by third parties. Producers have been classified as owner, leaseholder, sharecropper and occupier.
Land use
The area of the establishments according to use was divided into the following categories:
- Permanent crops - comprising the area planted or being prepared for planting long-term crops that after harvesting do not require new seeding and keep producing during successive years. Areas occupied by nurseries of permanent-crop seedlings have been included in this category.
- Temporary crops - included the area planted or being prepared for planting short-term crops (usually less than one year) and requiring new seeding after each harvesting. Also included in this category were areas with green fodder to be cut.
- Natural pasture - formed by areas suitable for grazing, not planted, even those receiving some kind of treatment.
- Planted pasture - included areas especially cultivated for grazing.
- Natural woods - formed by areas with natural forests and woods used for extracting products or preserved as forest reservations.
- Planted woods - comprised areas cultivated or being prepared for planting forest essences (black acacia, eucalyptus, pine etc.), including the areas occupied by seedling nurseries of forest essences.
- Fallow land - land habitually used for planting temporary crops, which on the 31st of December 1995 were left uncultivated, for a period not longer than four years counting from the last year it was utilized.
- Productive land not in use - those areas suitable for crops, pasture or woods which were not being used to such ends. Land not used during more than four years was included here.
- Useless land - formed by areas unsuitable for growing crops, pasture or woods, such as sandy areas, marshes, steep slopes, rocky ground etc., and those formed by areas with roads, paths, buildings, irrigation ditches, ponds etc.
Irrigated land
Comprised the total area irrigated in agricultural establishments, by whichever means (flooding, infiltration, sprinkling or other method), excluding simple manual watering.
People employed
The survey of the people employed included all individuals, with or without compensation, who, on 12.31.1995, were performing services relative to the establishment's activities.
The people employed were distributed by sex and age group (14 years old and over, under 14 years old), in the following categories:
- Person in charge and unpaid family members - The producer or manager in charge of the establishment, earning a fixed wage or a share of production.
- Permanent employees - People hired to carry out permanent or long-term tasks, in exchange for compensation in cash or the equivalent product share, including family members of permanent employees that helped them perform their respective tasks.
- Temporary employees - People hired to perform eventual or short-term tasks, in exchange for compensation in cash or the equivalent product share, including family members of these employees that helped performing their respective tasks.
- Sharecroppers - People subordinated directly to the person in charge, who performed their tasks in exchange for a share of the production obtained through their labor (one half, one third, one fourth etc.) and member of their family that helped in the tasks assigned them.
- Other - All people whose regime of work was different from the previous groups, such as residents and people living as family etc.
The survey also included among the total of people employed those people who were living in the agricultural establishments.
Utilization of temporary labor
It was also investigated the highest number of temporary employees hired in the period between 08.01.1995 and 07.31.1996 to perform eventual or short-term work in the establishments.
Livestock inventories
The census investigated the number of cattle, buffaloes, horses, asses, sheep, goats and poultry owned by the producer, in the establishment or in common or open pastures located outside the establishment, and those belonging to third parties that were leased, rented or loaned to the producer on 07.31.1996.
Animals delivered and victimized
The census registered the number of animals delivered in the period between 08.01.1995 and 07.31.1996, including those that were victimized, slaughtered, sold or transferred to other establishment of the same producer, and those that during the same period died or were sacrificed due to disease, accident or lack of feeding.
Animals bought, sold and slaughtered
All animals bought, sold alive and slaughtered for sale or consumption in the establishments during the period of 08.01.1995 to 07.31.1996 were counted.
Animal products
Includes data on quantity and production value of cow, buffalo and goat milk, wool, hen's, quail's and other birds' eggs, bee's honey and wax, and silkworm cocoons. Also registered was the number of cows, buffaloes and goats milked and sheep shorn.
The census investigated also the number and value of purchase and sale of hen's eggs for incubation during the period between 08.01.1995 and 07.31.1996 and the origin of bee's honey and wax production.
Vegetal products
It refers to the quantity and production value of the main permanent and temporary crops, horticulture, vegetal extraction and forestry, in the period between 08.01.1995 and 07.31.1996.
Regarding permanent and temporary crops, it presents the production in the establishment itself, including the share of non-autonomous sharecroppers. The private production of the resident people, that is, the production obtained by the resident people (employees, farmhands etc.) for their own subsistence, in land belonging to the establishment, loaned for free, is presented in separate tables.
Investments
It informs the total amount of investments made in the period between 08.01.1995 and 07.31.1996 on land acquired, buildings, facilities and other improvements, new permanent crops and new woods planted, vehicles and other means of transportation (new and used), purchase of animals for breeding and other uses, new and used machinery and farm implements.
Financing
Types of financing were recorded, according to purpose (investment, costing or trading), as long as used in activities connected to agricultural exploitation.
Expenditure
Presented as expenditure were the expenses made in the period of 08.01.1995 to 07.31.1996 for maintenance and costing of the establishments' activities, as well as wages, value of quota-share given to partners, land leasing and sharing, fertilizers and corrective products, seeds and seedlings, pesticides, animal medication, animal feeding (salt, processed feeds and other), purchase of fertilized eggs and one-day-old chicks, leasing machinery and implements, contracted services, production transport, interest and banking expenses, taxes, sacking and other packaging, fuels and lubricants, electricity and other expenses.
Receipts
Receipts correspond to the amount obtained by the sale of production and the exploitation of activities engaged by the establishments such as sale of vegetal products, flowers, ornamental plants and grass, animals and animal products, frogs and fish, products processed in the establishments (rural industry), industrial services and other services rendered to third parties, mineral exploitation, sale of machinery, vehicles and implements, and other receipts