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Global Food Security-Support Analysis Data at 30 m (GFSAD30)

By Drought November 1, 2016

How do we feed the world's growing population?

One step is by monitoring global croplands by combining multi-sensor remote sensing data with related data to create cropland maps

See the maps

Using remote sensing data, especially Landsat data to map cropland extent, and crop types, to support managing water supplies for both energy and food production to ensure global food security.

Monitoring global croplands is imperative for ensuring sustainable water and food security to the people of the world in the twenty-first Century. The currently available cropland products suffer from major limitations such as:

  • Absence of precise spatial location of the cropped areas;
  • Coarse resolution nature of the map products with significant uncertainties in areas, locations, and detail;
  • Uncertainties in differentiating irrigated areas from rainfed areas;
  • Absence of crop types and cropping intensities; and
  • Absence of a dedicated web\data portal for the dissemination of cropland products.

Thereby, the overarching goal of GFSAD30 project is to produce consistent and unbiased estimates of global agricultural cropland products such as:

1) Cropland extent\area;
2) Crop types with focus on 8 crops that occupy 70% of the global cropland areas;
3) Irrigated versus rainfed;
4) Cropping intensities: single, double, triple, and continuous cropping;
5) Cropland change over space and time: 1990-2017.

Once the above products are established, other products such as the following can be derived using the above products and certain other inputs:

6) Crop productivity (productivity per unit of land; kg\m2)
7) Water productivity (crop per drop or productivity per unit of water; kg\m3).

Using remote sensing data, especially Landsat data to map cropland extent, and crop types, to support managing water supplies for both energy and food production to ensure global food security.

Monitoring global croplands is imperative for ensuring sustainable water and food security to the people of the world in the twenty-first Century. The currently available cropland products suffer from major limitations such as:

  • Absence of precise spatial location of the cropped areas;
  • Coarse resolution nature of the map products with significant uncertainties in areas, locations, and detail;
  • Uncertainties in differentiating irrigated areas from rainfed areas;
  • Absence of crop types and cropping intensities; and
  • Absence of a dedicated web\data portal for the dissemination of cropland products.

Thereby, the overarching goal of GFSAD30 project is to produce consistent and unbiased estimates of global agricultural cropland products such as:

1) Cropland extent\area;
2) Crop types with focus on 8 crops that occupy 70% of the global cropland areas;
3) Irrigated versus rainfed;
4) Cropping intensities: single, double, triple, and continuous cropping;
5) Cropland change over space and time: 1990-2017.

Once the above products are established, other products such as the following can be derived using the above products and certain other inputs:

6) Crop productivity (productivity per unit of land; kg\m2)
7) Water productivity (crop per drop or productivity per unit of water; kg\m3).