Global Agriculture Net Energy Analysis with FAO Data and Embodied Energy Values

Global time-series data from the FAO on production, food balance, and fertilizer/pesticide use, converted to joules with embodied energy values. The dataset comprises four Excel workbooks compiled for a BERQ journal article on net energy analysis. Author Zeke Marshall from the University of Leeds created this dataset, though some licensed IEA and Steenwyk et al. data were omitted.

Use Cases

• Modeling the net energy return of global agriculture based on embodied energy values mentioned in the description.
• Analyzing trends in agricultural energy intensity using FAO production data converted to joules.
• Assessing sustainability metrics by linking fertilizer and pesticide use to energy inputs.
• Conducting time-series analysis of food system energy flows using FAO Food Balance data.

Strengths

• Data is structured across four distinct Excel workbooks for specific analyses (summary, production, food balance, inputs).
• Integrates physical mass (tonnes) and energy (joules) units for FAO data, enabling energy analysis.
• Includes associated embodied energy values, a key feature for net energy calculations.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Some data from IEA and Steenwyk et al. were omitted due to licensing, creating potential gaps.

Provenance

Source

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, with additional licensed data omitted.

Collection Method

Data compilation and conversion to energy units for a specific research article.

Geography

Global