Global Harvested Cereal Land Area Data

Harvested area for cereals like wheat, rice, and maize is tracked across countries, though some nations report only sown or cultivated land. The World Development Indicators from the World Bank compile this data, which excludes crops harvested for hay, green feed, silage, or grazing.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in harvested_hectares for wheat and rice to assess regional food security risks.
• Model the relationship between land_under_cereal_production and national yield metrics over time.
• Compare reported sown_area versus harvested_area across countries to identify measurement inconsistencies.
• Forecast future cereal_land_use based on historical time-series data for maize and barley.

Strengths

• Covers major cereal crops including wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains.
• Provides clear definitions distinguishing harvested area from sown or cultivated area.

Limitations

• Data consistency is limited as some countries report only sown or cultivated area instead of harvested area.
• The dataset excludes significant cereal uses like crops harvested for hay, green food, feed, silage, or grazing.

Provenance

Source

World Development Indicators, World Bank

Collection Method

Compiled from national statistical agencies and official reports.

Geography

Global country-level coverage.