The government has approved the draft law “On the Agricultural Census,” a process aimed at comprehensively registering agricultural economic units throughout the country. The initiative directly affects farmers, families working agricultural land, livestock units, and agricultural holdings that produce both for the market and for household consumption.

The main objective of the census is to create a reliable picture of Albania’s agricultural sector, which continues to play an important social and economic role, particularly in rural areas. Through this process, INSTAT will collect data on agricultural land, cultivated crops, livestock, beekeeping, farm employment, as well as the age and gender of individuals involved in agricultural activities.

The draft law stipulates that the census should cover 98% of the land used for agricultural purposes, excluding horticulture, and 98% of livestock units in the country. The registration will include units that use agricultural land or engage in agricultural and/or livestock activities. Public forests and pastures will not be included, except when they are directly used by agricultural economic units for their activities.

This register will be administered exclusively by INSTAT and, according to the draft law, will not be used to create or update other administrative registers. The collected data will be used solely for statistical purposes.

For citizens and farmers, the most significant aspect of the law is the obligation to provide complete, accurate, and truthful information. Managers of agricultural economic units will be required to respond to the census questionnaire. If they are unable to provide the information themselves, another adult member of the family or economic unit, authorized by the manager, may do so on their behalf.

The census results will be published at the national, local, and other geographic levels, but only in statistical form. They will also include gender-related data in agriculture to measure the roles of women and men in agricultural economies. INSTAT will submit the results to Eurostat within 12 months after the end of the reference period.

According to the draft law, failure to cooperate with the census process may result in administrative penalties, including fines for those who refuse to provide the required information.