May 17, 2022

7.6% drop in number of farms in Spain

Spain saw a 7.6% reduction in the number of farms in the country, with 70,000 fewer farms compared to 2009, according to data from the new Agricultural Census 2020 published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Utilised agricultural area in Spain had grown by 0.7% and exceeded 23.9 million hectares. This translates into an increase in the average area of farms, which stands at 26.37 hectares, 7.4% greater than in 2009.

The data obtained continue to show a trend towards the specialisation of farms due to the increase in the average utilised agricultural area (UAA) and the livestock units of the farms, in addition to the increase in management by legal entities as opposed to individuals.

Since the previous census in 2009, the evolution of the number of animals has been different depending on the species and types of livestock.

    - Cattle: In general, the number of head has increased (+27.61%), although for dairy cows, the increase has been very slight (+2.55%);

    - Poultry: Broiler production increased (+14.95%), while the number of layers decreased slightly (-4.39%). A sharp decline was also observed for the rest of the poultry;

    - Swine: The sector saw strong growth, from 24,712,057 head in 2009 to 30,091,215 in 2020 (+21.77%).

- Pig333