China's State Council has issued a notice on conducting the fourth national agricultural census, People's Daily Online reported.

The agricultural census is a large statistical survey carried out every ten years, capturing farmland area, crop composition, livestock scale, machinery holdings, and farm household population and income structure on a near-complete basis.

Its results serve as baseline material for agricultural policy. Grain production targets, subsidy allocation and priorities for rural infrastructure investment are adjusted on the basis of these statistics.

The item drawing attention this time is change in who farms. The census is expected to show how far the shift from individual households toward cooperatives and corporate operators has progressed.

Internationally, Chinese agricultural statistics are treated as a major variable in grain supply forecasts, given the effect of soybean and maize import volumes on world prices.

The start date and detailed items will be fixed in follow-up implementation plans. A preparation period and pilot survey normally precede the full census.