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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2009

Remote sensing of global croplands for food security: Way forward

This book opens a new pathway for global mapping that is focused on a specific land use theme, such as irrigated or rain-fed croplands and classes within these themes. Since croplands use most of the water consumed by humans, specific knowledge of irrigated and rain-fed croplands will be critical for precise estimates of water use. At present and in the coming decades, irrigated and rain-fed cropland area mapping is crucial for food security studies. Throughout this book, various subjects pertaining to global croplands are discussed comprehensively.

Book chapter↗
USGS2009

Declining global per capita agricultural production and warming oceans threaten food security

Despite accelerating globalization, most people still eat food that is grown locally. Developing countries with weak purchasing power tend to import as little food as possible from global markets, suffering consumption deficits during times of high prices or production declines. Local agricultural production, therefore, is critical to both food security and economic development among the rural poor. The level of local agricultural production, in turn, will be determined by the amount and quality of arable land, the amount and quality of agricultural inputs (fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, etc.), as well as farm-related technology, practices and policies. This paper discusses several emerging threats to global and regional food security, including declining yield gains that are failing to keep up with population increases, and warming in the tropical Indian Ocean and its impact on rainfall. If yields continue to grow more slowly than per capita harvested area, parts of Africa, Asia and Central and Southern America will experience substantial declines in per capita cereal production. Global per capita cereal production will potentially decline by 14% between 2008 and 2030. Climate change is likely to further affect food production, particularly in regions that have very low yields due to lack of technology. Drought, caused by anthropogenic warming in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, may also reduce 21st century food availability in some countries by disrupting moisture transports and bringing down dry air over crop growing areas. The impacts of these circulation changes over Asia remain uncertain. For Africa, however, Indian Ocean warming appears to have already reduced rainfall during the main growing season along the eastern edge of tropical Africa, from southern Somalia to northern parts of the Republic of South Africa. Through a combination of quantitative modeling of food balances and an examination of climate change, this study presents an analysis of emerging threats to global food security.

Food Security↗
USGS2024

Global Food Security Support Analysis Data (GFSAD) using remote sensing in support of food and water security in the 21st century

The overarching goal of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-art of global cropland mapping procedures using remote sensing as characterized and envisioned by the “Global Food Security Support Analysis Data @ 30 m (GFSAD30)” project working group team. First, the chapter will provide an overview of existing cropland maps and their characteristics along with establishing the gaps in knowledge related to global cropland mapping. Second, definitions of cropland mapping along with key parameters involved in cropland mapping based on their importance in food security analysis, and cropland naming conventions for standardized cropland mapping using remote sensing will be presented. Third, existing methods and approaches for cropland mapping will be discussed. This will include the type of remote sensing data used in cropland mapping and their characteristics along with discussions on the secondary data, field-plot data, and cropland mapping algorithms. Fourth, currently existing global cropland products derived using remote sensing will be presented and discussed. Fifth, a synthesis of all existing products leading to a composite global cropland extent version 1.0 (GCE V1.0) is presented and discussed. Sixth, a way forward for advanced global cropland mapping is visualized.

Book chapter↗
USGS2023

Sustainable aquifer management for food security

In aquifer-dependent regions, balancing aquifer protection, desalination, economic development, agricultural irrigation, and food security can be better managed through discovery and development of sources of sustainable groundwater pumping. Aquifer desalination for irrigation to protect food security can mitigate pressure on local freshwater aquifers. Despite its importance, little peer reviewed work to date has identified the economic capacity to pay for aquifer desalination for irrigation to mitigate freshwater aquifer drawdown. The novel contribution of this work is the development and application of an innovative method to assess the economic capacity to pay for aquifer desalination for irrigation for a recently discovered large saline aquifer. It develops an original framework to assess the capacity to pay for aquifer desalination, the results of which can help guide policymakers on efficient and sustainable pumping approaches across users, aquifers, and time periods. A mathematical programming model is developed to economically analyze the 200 billion cubic meter Lotikipi Aquifer, discovered in 2013 in northern Kenya using modern remote sensing methods. While initial pumping of the Lotikipi Aquifer was halted due to high groundwater salinity levels, interest remains strong in assessing the economic capacity to pay for groundwater desalination because of its potential role in protecting regional food security generated by aquifer pumping for irrigation. The model is formulated by calibrating optimized pumping patterns in two existing freshwater aquifers to replicate observed historical pumping levels. Based on that exercise, a second model is developed to identify a least cost set of pumping restrictions that return each of three regional aquifers to starting conditions over a seven-year time period. A third model extends the second by adding a constraint of a minimum required level of food grain security supported by irrigation pumping from the aquifer system. Results show that the economic capacity to pay for aquifer desalination for irrigated agriculture lies in the range of $0.08 - $0.18 USD per cubic meter under current economic conditions and desalination technologies available. While this economic capacity to pay is lower than its current cost in most places, the future could be more optimistic. Advances in desalination technology, higher crop prices, technical advance in agriculture, and development of drought-resistant crops can all contribute to a future capacity to economically justify the expense of desalination.

Agricultural Systems Journal↗
USGS2014

Inland capture fishery contributions to global food security and threats to their future

Inland fish and fisheries play important roles in ensuring global food security. They provide a crucial source of animal protein and essential micronutrients for local communities, especially in the developing world. Data concerning fisheries production and consumption of freshwater fish are generally inadequately assessed, often leading decision makers to undervalue their importance. Modification of inland waterways for alternative uses of freshwater (particularly dams for hydropower and water diversions for human use) negatively impacts the productivity of inland fisheries for food security at local and regional levels. This paper highlights the importance of inland fisheries to global food security, the challenges they face due to competing demands for freshwater, and possible solutions.

Global Food Security↗
USGS2012

Food security in a changing climate

By 2080 the effects of climate change—on heat waves, floods, sea level rise, and drought—could push an additional 600 million people into malnutrition and increase the number of people facing water scarcity by 1.8 billion. The precise impacts will, however, strongly depend on socioeconomic conditions such as local markets and food import dependence. In the near term, two factors are also changing the nature of food security: (1) rapid urbanization, with the proportion of the global population living in urban areas expanding from 13 percent in 1975 to greater than 50 percent at present, and (2) trade and domestic market liberalization since 1993, which has promoted removal of import controls, deregulation of prices, and the loss of preferential markets for many small economies. Over the last two years, the worst drought in decades has devastated eastern Africa. The resulting food-security crisis has affected roughly 13 million people and has reminded us that there is still a long way to go in addressing current climate-related risks. In the face of such profound changes and uncertainties, our approaches to food security must evolve. In this article, we describe four key elements that, in our view, will be essential to the success of efforts to address the linked challenges of food security and climate change.

Solutions Journal↗
USGS2012

Assessing future risks to agricultural productivity, water resources and food security: How can remote sensing help?

Although global food production has been rising, the world sti ll faces a major food security challenge. Over one billion people are currently undernourished (Wheeler and Kay, 2010). By the 2050s, the human population is projected to grow to 9.1 billion. Over three-quarters of these people will be living in developing countries, in regions that already lack the capacity to feed their populations . Under current agricultural practices, the increased demand for food would require in excess of one billion hectares of new cropland, nearly equivalent to the land area of the United States, and would lead to significant increases in greenhouse gases (Tillman et al. , 2011). Since climate is the primary determinant of agricultural productivity, changes to it will influence not only crop yields, but also hydrologic balances and supplies of inputs to managed farming systems, and may lead to a shift in the geographic location of some crops . Therefore, not only must crop productivity (yield per unit of land; kg/m 2 ) increase, but water productivity (yield per unit of water or "crop per drop"; kg/m 3 ) must increase as well in order to feed a burgeoning population against a backdrop of changing dietary consumption patterns, a changing climate and the growing scarcity of water and land (Beddington, 2010). The impact from these changes wi ll affect the viability of both dryland subsistence and irrigated commodity food production (Knox, et al. , 2010a). Since climate is a primary determinant of agricultural productivity, any changes will influence not only crop yields, but also the hydrologic balances, and supplies of inputs to managed farming systems as well as potentially shifting the geographic location for specific crops . Unless concerted and collective action is taken, society risks worldwide food shortages, scarcity of water resources and insufficient energy. This has the potential to unleash public unrest, cross-border conflicts and migration as people flee the worst-affected regions to seck refuge in "safe havens", a situation that Beddington described as the "perfect storm" (2010).

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS2008

Food security under climate change

Food insecurity is likely to increase under climate change, unless early warning systems and development programs are used more effectively.

Science↗
USGS2024

Climate-smart agriculture for Ukraine: Winter wheat breeding for food security and climate adaptation

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, people have experienced food insecurity challenges because of increased prices of staple food commodities and loss of income or livelihood. Globally, countries with limited capacity to adapt have struggled to recover from pandemic-related disruptions and are further challenged to address adverse effects of climate change on agricultural production (United Nations [UN], 2022). Ukraine, a key agricultural exporter of staple food commodities, has a vital role in contributing to global food security, in particular through its wheat exports to countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe (Martyshev and others, 2023). However, Ukraine’s role as a stable source of global wheat has been disrupted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war—a conflict which began in February of 2022. Given the fragile state of global and local markets and food systems, and the increasing risk climate change poses to agricultural production globally, Ukraine has prioritized adopting efficient agricultural practices to contribute to stabilizing crop yields and to increase its capacity to export wheat and other staple crops. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (MINAGRO), along with addressing climate change, a contributing driver for this prioritization is the desire to join the European Union (EU) and the need to meet the requirements for the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for acceptance as a union member state (Markiyan Dmytrasevych, a former deputy minister of MINAGRO, oral commun., 2023). As a result, MINAGRO is considering climate-smart agricultural practices to secure future crop yields and build resilience within its agricultural sector, especially as the war has impeded millions of tons of crops from reaching domestic and global markets. This report employs the climate-smart agriculture framework to provide Ukrainian agricultural policy- and decision makers and others in technical and development assistance roles with an overview of relevant climate, environmental, and agricultural policy and market factors, and projections on climate and environmental resources that could influence the implementation of climate-smart agricultural practices in Ukraine, and aid Ukraine in successfully joining the EU.

Report↗
USGS2022

Global food-security-support-analysis data at 30-m resolution (GFSAD30) cropland-extent products—Download Analysis

Introduction The global food-security-support-analysis data at 30-meter resolution (GFSAD30) cropland-extent product is a project to provide high-resolution global cropland-extent data relating to water use. It is the first global-land-cover map focusing exclusively on agriculture with a 30-meter spatial resolution. The overarching goal of the GFSAD30 project is to produce consistent and unbiased estimates of global agricultural cropland products such as cropland extent; cropland types; irrigated versus rainfed cropland; cropping intensities; and spatial and temporal (from 2000 to 2017) changes in cropland extent. The goal of this report is to assess and discuss the usage of the GFSAD30 project’s cropland-extent product. Since the public release of GFSAD30 in November 2017, the number of files downloaded has been tracked, as well as the total size of files downloaded, the country from which the GFSAD30 data were downloaded, and the user’s field of study. This report presents a monthly assessment of the usage of GFSAD30 from November 2017 through December 2019. During this period, about 1,900 gigabytes of data and about 225,000 files were downloaded by users in more than 100 countries. This report also includes how GFSAD30 has been cited in media, scientific journals, and other data products. The release of data was widely covered by the national and international press, and GFSAD30 products have been cited more than 200 times in scientific journals.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2010

Agriculture and food availability -- remote sensing of agriculture for food security monitoring in the developing world

For one-sixth of the world’s population - roughly 1 billion children, women and men - growing, buying or receiving adequate, affordable food to eat is a daily uncertainty. The World Monetary Fund reports that food prices worldwide increased 43 percent in 2007-2008, and unpredictable growing conditions make subsistence farming, on which many depend, a risky business. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are part of a network of both private and government institutions that monitor food security in many of the poorest nations in the world.

Earthzine↗
USGS2019

Recognizing the Famine Early Warning Systems Network: Over 30 years of drought early warning science advances and partnerships promoting global food security

On a planet with more than 7 billion people, how do we identify the millions of drought-afflicted people who face a real threat of livelihood disruption or death without humanitarian assistance? Typically, these people are poor and heavily dependent on rainfed agriculture and livestock. Most live in Africa, Central America, or Southwest Asia. When the rains fail, incomes diminish while food prices increase, cutting off the poorest (most often women and children) from access to adequate nutrition. As seen in Ethiopia in 1984 and Somalia in 2011, food shortages can lead to famine. Yet these slow onset disasters also provide opportunities for effective intervention, as seen in Ethiopia in 2015 and Somalia in 2017. Since 1985, the US Agency for International Development's Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has been providing evidence-based guidance for effective humanitarian relief efforts. FEWS NET depends on a Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) to help understand, monitor, model and predict food insecurity. Here we provide an overview of FEWS NET's DEWS using examples from recent climate extremes. While drought monitoring and prediction provides just one part of FEWS NET's monitoring system, it draws from many disciplines - remote sensing, climate prediction, agro-climatic monitoring, and hydrologic modeling. Here we describe FEWS NET's multi-agency multi-disciplinary DEWS and Food Security Outlooks. This DEWS uses diagnostic analyses to guide predictions. Mid-season droughts are monitored using multiple cutting-edge earth observing systems. Crop and hydrologic models can translate these observations into impacts. This information feeds into FEWS NET reports, helping to save lives by motivating and targeting timely humanitarian assistance.

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society↗
USGS2011

Changes in agricultural cropland areas between a water-surplus year and a water-deficit year impacting food security, determined using MODIS 250 m time-series data and spectral matching techniques, in the Krishna river basin (India)

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in cropland areas as a result of water availability using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m time-series data and spectral matching techniques (SMTs). The study was conducted in the Krishna River basin in India, a very large river basin with an area of 265 752 km 2 (26 575 200 ha), comparing a water-surplus year (2000–2001) and a water-deficit year (2002–2003). The MODIS 250 m time-series data and SMTs were found ideal for agricultural cropland change detection over large areas and provided fuzzy classification accuracies of 61–100% for various land‐use classes and 61–81% for the rain-fed and irrigated classes. The most mixing change occurred between rain-fed cropland areas and informally irrigated (e.g. groundwater and small reservoir) areas. Hence separation of these two classes was the most difficult. The MODIS 250 m-derived irrigated cropland areas for the districts were highly correlated with the Indian Bureau of Statistics data, with R 2 -values between 0.82 and 0.86. The change in the net area irrigated was modest, with an irrigated area of 8 669 881 ha during the water-surplus year, as compared with 7 718 900 ha during the water-deficit year. However, this is quite misleading as most of the major changes occurred in cropping intensity, such as changing from higher intensity to lower intensity (e.g. from double crop to single crop). The changes in cropping intensity of the agricultural cropland areas that took place in the water-deficit year (2002–2003) when compared with the water-surplus year (2000–2001) in the Krishna basin were: (a) 1 078 564 ha changed from double crop to single crop, (b) 1 461 177 ha changed from continuous crop to single crop, (c) 704 172 ha changed from irrigated single crop to fallow and (d) 1 314 522 ha changed from minor irrigation (e.g. tanks, small reservoirs) to rain-fed. These are highly significant changes that will have strong impact on food security. Such changes may be expected all over the world in a changing climate.

International Journal of Remote Sensing↗
USGS2023

A global long-term daily reanalysis of reference evapotranspiration for drought and food-security monitoring

NOAA has developed a global reference evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) reanalysis using the UN Food and Agriculture Organization formulation (FAO-56) of the Penman-Monteith equation forced by MERRA phase 2 (MERRA2) meteorological and radiative drivers. The NOAA ET 0 reanalysis is provided daily from January 1, 1980 to the near-present at a resolution of 0.5° latitude × 0.625° longitude. The reanalysis is verified against station data across southern Africa, a region presenting both significant challenges regarding hydroclimatic variability and observational quantity and quality and significant potential benefits to food-insecure populations. These data are generated from observations from the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) network. We further verified globally against spatially distributed ET 0 derived from two reanalyses–the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) and Princeton Global Forcing (PGF)–and these verifications produced similar results, yet demonstrated wide regional and seasonal differences. We also present cases that verify the operational applicability of the reanalysis in long-established drought, famine, crop- and pastoral-stress metrics, and in predictability assessments of drought forecasts.

Nature Scientific Data↗
USGS2008

Warming of the Indian Ocean threatens eastern and southern African food security but could be mitigated by agricultural development

Since 1980, the number of undernourished people in eastern and southern Africa has more than doubled. Rural development stalled and rural poverty expanded during the 1990s. Population growth remains very high, and declining per-capita agricultural capacity retards progress toward Millennium Development goals. Analyses of in situ station data and satellite observations of precipitation have identified another problematic trend: main growing-season rainfall receipts have diminished by ???15% in food-insecure countries clustered along the western rim of the Indian Ocean. Occurring during the main growing seasons in poor countries dependent on rain-fed agriculture, these declines are societally dangerous. Will they persist or intensify? Tracing moisture deficits upstream to an anthropogenically warming Indian Ocean leads us to conclude that further rainfall declines are likely. We present analyses suggesting that warming in the central Indian Ocean disrupts onshore moisture transports, reducing continental rainfall. Thus, late 20th-century anthropogenic Indian Ocean warming has probably already produced societally dangerous climate change by creating drought and social disruption in some of the world's most fragile food economies. We quantify the potential impacts of the observed precipitation and agricultural capacity trends by modeling 'millions of undernourished people' as a function of rainfall, population, cultivated area, seed, and fertilizer use. Persistence of current tendencies may result in a 50% increase in undernourished people by 2030. On the other hand, modest increases in per-capita agricultural productivity could more than offset the observed precipitation declines. Investing in agricultural development can help mitigate climate change while decreasing rural poverty and vulnerability. ?? 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of↗
USGS2016

Landsat helps bolster food security

One of the cruelest, most complex narratives in the world today (2019) is written in the hunger of sub-Saharan Africa. When famine is the only yield from the scorched Earth, survival often depends on a heart-rending calculation—how far is the distant feeding center and how close is the nearest well?

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2025

From critical minerals to food security, the benefits of data collaboration

The volume of data in the public geoscience sphere is rapidly and continually expanding. At Geoscience Australia (GA) we saw an over 500% increase in data points within our relational databases between 2018 and 2024, over the life of the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program. With the Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative, a continued increase in data quantity will be seen for the next 10 to 35 years. At the same time, a broadening audience for geoscience data is increasing the desire to enhance the diversity of delivery streams. This ranges from data-dense highly technical outputs for geoscience specialists to curated interpretive products for people who are non-geoscientists. Development of these curated outputs has contributed to our awareness of the need for data to be collected and compiled in a way that ensures its reuse, with a focus on quality metadata and data provenance.

Conference Paper↗