Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis
Understanding the determinants of agricultural productivity requires accurate measurement of crop output and yield. In smallholder production systems across low- and middle-income countries, crop yields have traditionally been assessed based on far...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2022
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099320407152277828/P16229209200bf0bd0b8820e733ebdb3407 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37749 |
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okr-10986-377492022-07-27T11:57:44Z Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis David B. Lobell George Azzari Burke,Marshall Benajah Gourlay,Sydney Zhenong Jin Kilic,Talip Murray,Siobhan Understanding the determinants of agricultural productivity requires accurate measurement of crop output and yield. In smallholder production systems across low- and middle-income countries, crop yields have traditionally been assessed based on farmer-reported production and land areas in household and farm surveys, occasionally by objective crop cuts for a sub-section of a farmer’s plot, and rarely using full-plot harvests. In parallel, satellite data continue to improve in terms of spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution needed to discern performance on smallholder plots. This study evaluates ground and satellite-based approaches to estimating crop yields and yield responsiveness to inputs, using data on maize from Eastern Uganda. Using unique, simultaneous ground data on yields based on farmer reporting, sub-plot crop cutting, and full-plot harvests across hundreds of smallholder plots, we document large discrepancies among the ground-based measures, particularly among yields based on farmer-reporting versus sub-plot or full-plot crop cutting. Compared to yield measures based on either farmer-reporting or sub-plot crop cutting, satellite-based yield measures explain as much or more variation in yields based on (gold-standard) full-plot crop cuts. Further, estimates of the association between maize yield and various production factors (e.g., fertilizer, soil quality) are similar across crop cut- and satellite-based yield measures, with the use of the latter at times leading to more significant results due to larger sample sizes. Overall, the results suggest a substantial role for satellite-based yield estimation in measuring and understanding agricultural productivity in the developing world. 2022-07-25T13:16:36Z 2022-07-25T13:16:36Z 2022-07-15 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099320407152277828/P16229209200bf0bd0b8820e733ebdb3407 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37749 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank Washington, DC: World Bank Journal Article Publications & Research Other Other World |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| geographic_facet |
Other Other World |
| description |
Understanding the determinants of
agricultural productivity requires accurate measurement of
crop output and yield. In smallholder production systems
across low- and middle-income countries, crop yields have
traditionally been assessed based on farmer-reported
production and land areas in household and farm surveys,
occasionally by objective crop cuts for a sub-section of a
farmer’s plot, and rarely using full-plot harvests. In
parallel, satellite data continue to improve in terms of
spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution needed to discern
performance on smallholder plots. This study evaluates
ground and satellite-based approaches to estimating crop
yields and yield responsiveness to inputs, using data on
maize from Eastern Uganda. Using unique, simultaneous ground
data on yields based on farmer reporting, sub-plot crop
cutting, and full-plot harvests across hundreds of
smallholder plots, we document large discrepancies among the
ground-based measures, particularly among yields based on
farmer-reporting versus sub-plot or full-plot crop cutting.
Compared to yield measures based on either farmer-reporting
or sub-plot crop cutting, satellite-based yield measures
explain as much or more variation in yields based on
(gold-standard) full-plot crop cuts. Further, estimates of
the association between maize yield and various production
factors (e.g., fertilizer, soil quality) are similar across
crop cut- and satellite-based yield measures, with the use
of the latter at times leading to more significant results
due to larger sample sizes. Overall, the results suggest a
substantial role for satellite-based yield estimation in
measuring and understanding agricultural productivity in the
developing world. |
| format |
Journal Article |
| author |
David B. Lobell George Azzari Burke,Marshall Benajah Gourlay,Sydney Zhenong Jin Kilic,Talip Murray,Siobhan |
| spellingShingle |
David B. Lobell George Azzari Burke,Marshall Benajah Gourlay,Sydney Zhenong Jin Kilic,Talip Murray,Siobhan Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis |
| author_facet |
David B. Lobell George Azzari Burke,Marshall Benajah Gourlay,Sydney Zhenong Jin Kilic,Talip Murray,Siobhan |
| author_sort |
David B. Lobell |
| title |
Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the
Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to
Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis |
| title_short |
Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the
Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to
Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis |
| title_full |
Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the
Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to
Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis |
| title_fullStr |
Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the
Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to
Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the
Ground : Assessing Satellite, and Ground-Based Approaches to
Crop Yield Measurement and Analysis |
| title_sort |
eyes in the sky, boots on the
ground : assessing satellite, and ground-based approaches to
crop yield measurement and analysis |
| publisher |
Washington, DC: World Bank |
| publishDate |
2022 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099320407152277828/P16229209200bf0bd0b8820e733ebdb3407 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37749 |
| _version_ |
1764487731643154432 |