FAO Global Farming Systems Study (83 Digital Maps)

This data set consists of 83 digital maps that were produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the World Bank as part of a Global Farming Systems Study. The maps are distributed through the FAO-UN GeoNetwork Portal to Spatial Data and Information.

As part of the World Bank's review of its rural development strategy, the Bank sought the assistance of FAO in evaluating how farming systems might change and adapt over the next thirty years. Amongst other objectives, the World Bank asked FAO to provide guidance on priorities for investment in food security, poverty reduction, and economic growth, and in particular to identify promising approaches and technologies that will contribute to these goals. The results of the study are summarized in a set of seven documents, comprising six regional reports and a global overview. The global overview, which synthesizes the results of the six regional analyses as well as discussing global trends, cross-cutting issues and possible implementation modalities, presents an overview of the complete study. The global document is supplemented by two case study reports of development issues of importance to farming systems globally.

The six regions studied include:

East Asia Pacific
East Europe and Central Asia
Latin America and Caribbean
Middle East and North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa

Map coverages for each region include the following:

Average precipitation
Average temperature
Elevation
Irrigation intensity
Land cover
Length of growing period
Livestock stocking density
Major environmental constraints
Major farming systems
NOAA Satellite imagery (shaded relief imagery and ocean floor bathymetry)
Permanent crop and arable land
Rural population
Slope
Total population

The map coverages were prepared by FAO based on the following data sources:

Doll, P. and Siebert, S. 1999. A Digital Global Map of Irrigated Areas, Report No A9901, Centre for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany.

Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Data and Maps 1999, Volume 1. World Worldsat Color Shaded Relief Image. Based on 1996 NOAA weather satellite images, with enhanced shaded relief imagery and ocean floor relief data (bathymetry) to provide a land and undersea topographic view. ESRI, Redlands, California, USA.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Land and Water Development Division (AGL) with the collaboration of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). 2000. Global Agro-Ecological Zones Study. FAO, Rome, Italy.

Gomes, R. 1999. Major Environmental Constraints for Agricultural Production Project. Based on FAOCLIM database, ARTEMIS NDVI imagery, and soil and terrain data provided by Soil Resources Management and Conservation Service. FAO-GIS. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Environment and Natural Resources Service, Rome, Italy.

Leemans, R. and Cramer, W. 1991. The IIASA Database for Mean Monthly Values of Temperature, Precipitation and Cloudiness on a Global Terrestrial Grid. Research Report RR-91-18. November 1991. International Institute of Applied Systems Analyses, Laxenburg, pp. 61.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, LandScan Global Population 1998 Database. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA.

Slingenbergh, J. Livestock Distribution, Production and Diseases: Towards a Global Livestock Atlas. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), AGAH, Rome, Italy. (aka Global Livestock Production and Health Atlas (GLiPHA))

U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center. 1996. GTOPO30 Digital Data Set. EDC, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.