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.

TIFF statistics contribute to the Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) which provide the basis for analysing the economic performance of the agricultural industry and are used by governments and the European Commission to make decisions on support for the agricultural industry. The EAA follow a harmonised methodological approach allowing for comparison of agricultural accounts across Europe. Methods and terminology used in the EAA are available in the Manual on the economic accounts for agriculture and forestry EAA/EA 97 (PDF) - Products Manuals and Guidelines - Eurostat.

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.

The Economic Accounts for Agriculture have a legal basis in the EU regulation (EC) No 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 December 2003 on the economic accounts for agriculture in the Community (as subsequently amended). They are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010), adapted to the economic and structural developments in agriculture. Under EU law, the structure of the ESA 2010 is consistent with the worldwide guidelines on national accounting set out in the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). The EU regulation does not oblige any Member State to use the EAA methodology in compiling agricultural accounts for its own purposes. The UK, when compiling agricultural accounts, including the calculation of Total Income from Farming, follows the EAA but differs in some respects, principally the inclusion of Gross Fixed Capital Formation of livestock in the value of total livestock production.