1. INFORMING THE MESSAGE The importance of statistics for the farming sector Rowena Dwyer IFA Chief Economist 22 nd November 2012

2. Contents IFA structure and policy development Role of statistics – recent work Importance of Agriculture – a County Breakdown Limitations and challenges The future

3. IFA Structure 947 Branches 29 County Executives 15 National Committees 10 Project Teams 87,000 Farmer Subscribers 12 Regional Offices HQ Executives 20 Brussels 1 Executive General Secretary Executive Council 53 Members Executive Board 8 Members (6 dir. elected) President

4. Developing and disseminating the message Internal Communications IFA meetings, newsletters to members, briefing documents Mobile phone text messaging - IFA News Alerts, Internet Coverage in Local/National Radio & Press External messaging Lobbying politicians – local, national, EU level Representation on State Agencies – interaction with public service Policy positions and documentation, media campaigns and demonstrations

5. Demand for statistics Can we say……..? Can we show……? Can you get……..? Statistics play a vital role in developing and supporting credible policy arguments Backbone of campaigns, speeches, policy documents CSO, Teagasc, Bord Bia, DAFM, DoF, DPER, C&AG, Central Bank, ESRI

6. From this…………….

8. To this…………….

10. Data sources for County Exercise CSO Census of Agriculture 2010 – Preliminary Results, Output, Input and Income in Agriculture 2011 – Final Estimate Regional Accounts for Agriculture 2010 Census of Agriculture 2000 – Economic Size Unit (ESU) of Farms Supply and Use And Input-Output Tables 2005 QNHS - Persons aged 15 years and over in employment (ILO) classified by NACE Rev 2 (2 digit), NACE Code 10 Census 2011, Profile 3 at Work - Employment, Occupations and Industry Other Bord Bia, Export Performance 2011 and Prospects 2012 Annual Review & Outlook for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 2011/2012, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Forestry Service

11. Limitations and challenges Preliminary versus final data – media coverage will always be on latest release, despite health warnings Timing of data – delay between data collection and publication Sensitivity of data - level of detail available can be less than desired – e.g. further breakdown of intermediate consumption Comparability and reliability of data – survey vs. administrative data

12. The future Demand for data will never diminish! Scope for increased access – e.g. through database direct Improved coordination of data collection between different agencies Continued cooperation with agriculture sector – Agriculture Census 2010, ASLG

13. Thank you for your attention