An annual cropland extent dataset for Africa at 30&thinsp;m spatial resolution from 2000 to 2022

Lou, Zihang; Peng, Dailiang; Shi, Zhou; Wang, Hongyan; Liu, Ke; Zhang, Yaqiong; Yan, Xue; Chen, Zhongxing; Ye, Su; Yu, Le; Hu, Jinkang; Lv, Yulong; Peng, Hao; Zhang, Yizhou; Zhang, Bing

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3777-2025

Articles | Volume 17, issue 8

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3777-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3777-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 17, issue 8

Data description paper

|

07 Aug 2025

Data description paper |

| 07 Aug 2025

An annual cropland extent dataset for Africa at 30 m spatial resolution from 2000 to 2022

Zihang Lou, Dailiang Peng, Zhou Shi, Hongyan Wang, Ke Liu, Yaqiong Zhang, Xue Yan, Zhongxing Chen, Su Ye, Le Yu, Jinkang Hu, Yulong Lv, Hao Peng, Yizhou Zhang, and Bing Zhang

Data sets

AFCD: An Annual Cropland Extent Dataset for Africa at 30m Spatial Resolution from 2000 to 2022 Zihang Lou et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14920706

A global reference database of crowdsourced cropland data collected using the geo-wiki platform L. See https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.873912

Comparison of cropland maps derived from land cover maps in sub-saharan africa H. Kerner et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10694610

GLC_FCS30D: the first global 30-m land-cover dynamic monitoring product with fine classification system from 1985 to 2022 L. Liu et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8239305

MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 500\,m SIN Grid V061 M. Friedl and D. Sulla-Menashe https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD12Q1.061

ESA WorldCover 10\,m 2020 v100 (v100) D. Zanaga et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5571936

ESA WorldCover 10\,m 2021 v200 (v200) D. Zanaga et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7254221

Landsat-Derived Global Rainfed and Irrigated-Cropland Product 30\,m V001 P. Teluguntla et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/COMMUNITY/LGRIP/LGRIP30.001

Short summary

This study creates the first detailed annual maps of Africa's cropland extent from 2000 to 2022 in 30 m resolution to support global efforts against hunger and sustainable farming. Our findings show Africa's cropland grew by 8.5 % over 2 decades, while 11.5 % of cropland was abandoned by 2018, revealing hidden challenges in agricultural sustainability. These yearly field-sized maps help governments track where farming grows or shrinks, plan food supplies, and protect vital cropland.