Relevance

Relevance is about making sure our statistics meet the needs of users.

User Need

The primary use of TIFF is to inform policy decisions and to help monitor and evaluate current policies, especially their impact on different agricultural sectors.

The data are used to model the impact of potential future policy options. The prominent profile of TIFF in policy issues relates to the nature of the information collected and the scarcity of alternative sources.

The statistics help the government to assess the economic well-being of the different agricultural sectors, and to form, monitor and evaluate policy.

Data from TIFF are used as part of the quarterly compilation of Scottish GDP. The TIFF statistics are also used to compile the National Accounts of the UK.

The TIFF statistics are also regularly used in the economic and analytical modelling of Scottish agriculture, for example, as used by the Food and Policy Research Institute (FAPRI).

We also use the TIFF statistics to contribute to the formulation and publication of UK statistics on agriculture. These publications are co-ordinated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and available under Defra at gov.uk.

Research

Another important use of the survey is for academic research. Some microdata can be made available in an anonymous form and/or under strict confidentiality conditions for research projects.

Legal Basis

The Agriculture Act 1993, Part IV Miscellaneous and Supplementary (section 58), sets out the requirement for an annual report on agricultural matters relevant to price support for agricultural produce and appropriate developments in agricultural policy.  The Scotland agricultural account contributes towards this annual report.

The Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Act 2020 (sections 13.2- 13.6), provides the scope of what is collected and reported within the Total Income from Farming publication.