IGADD Member Countries Crop Types and Distribution by Administrative Units

1987 data from the Africa UNEP/FAO/ESRI Crops Data project details crop zones and irrigation potential across Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development member countries. It maps up to 13 crop types per country, including classifications for lowland and upland crops on best and suitable soils. The dataset was developed by the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Use Cases

• Analyze historical crop type distribution across administrative units using polygon data.
• Model irrigation water requirements for food grain crops based on annual rainfall relationships described in the source study.
• Compare soil suitability for lowland versus upland crops using the IRRIGLB, IRRIGLT, IRRIGUB, and IRRIGUT data fields.
• Assess agro-ecological zones (e.g., AEZBLL08, AEZBLL09, AEZBLL10) for regional agricultural potential studies.
• Join with contemporary datasets using administrative unit boundaries for longitudinal land use change analysis.

Strengths

• Data was developed through a multi-agency collaboration involving ESRI, FAO, and UNEP, ensuring authoritative sourcing.
• The underlying base maps, including the UNESCO/FAO Soil Map of the World at a 1:5,000,000 scale, provide a standardized geospatial foundation.
• Includes derived data on irrigation potential and soil water balance for specific crop and soil combinations.

Limitations

• The dataset is temporally stale, with a publication date of November 1987, limiting its relevance for current conditions.
• Spatial coverage is limited to member countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) in Africa.
• The original methodology notes a maximum of only 13 crop types represented per country, which may not capture full agricultural diversity.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Collection Method

Maps were prepared by ESRI using base maps including the UNESCO/FAO Soil Map of the World (1977), Administrative Units maps, and the World Atlas of Agriculture (1969), which were re-registered by comparing known features.

Time Range

1987

Geography

Member countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) in Africa.