Farm household incomes: Perceptions and statistics

Although concern with the incomes of the agricultural community is at the centre of agricultural policy in Europe, and a major reason why reform of the CAP has been opposed, reliable statistics on the incomes of farmers and their households are scarce. Policy has been built on assumptions about incomes in agriculture that have remained largely unsubstantiated by official statistics. Recently, information has been generated by Eurostat about the aggregate disposable income of the agricultural household sector in EU countries which, though falling short of being comprehensive, causes some of these assumptions to be seriously challenged. By providing policymakers with better information, and indicating where more detailed statistics are needed, the quality of policy decisions should be improved. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.