The FLINT project has developed and proposed an integrated system for data collection and management that consists of:
- The ‘Farm Return’ which provides clear definitions and instructions for each data item to be collected. Design is in line with the FADN farm return and according to the EU FADN standards,
- a set of rules for recording data,
- definitions of all variables to be recorded.
An exact specification is made for each of the 33 FLINT farm-level sustainability indicators regarding which data items to collect. For practical reasons, the collected data are rearranged into ten thematic tables and are structured and described according to the EU’s FADN standards. The thematic tables are:
- ‘Information and Knowledge’
- ‘Working Conditions and Quality of Life’
- ‘Innovation’, ‘Economic’
- ‘Land Management’
- ‘Risk Reduction’
- ‘Pesticide Usage’
- ‘Nutrient Balance’
- ‘Energy’ and ‘Water’
The data collection was piloted in 9 Member States (France, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Greece, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Finland).
FLINT has linked itself to the FADN because of the FADN’s harmonisation, credibility, annual implementation and high-quality standards.
