Comprehensive database of crop distribution in India (1947-2014)

We complied district- and country-level crop area and production data for India from 1947 to 2014. Country level data covering 31 crops for 1947 to 1960 were obtained from a combination of Indian Statistical Abstracts (Statistical abstract, India, 1951-1961) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Statistical Yearbooks (FAO, 1949-1962). For 1961 to 2014, data covering 80 crops from FAOSTAT (2017) were used. District level data were compiled from (i) the India Agriculture and Climate (IAC) data set, which covers 20 crops for 1956 to 1987 (Sanghi et al., 1998) and (ii) the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which covers 24 crops for 19 states for the period from 1966 to 2011 (ICRISAT, 2013).