Pins: Agriculture

Agriculture in Saudi Arabia (Moisture Index)

2019-01-29
S2L2A

The desert country of Saudi Arabia highly relies on irrigation farming for growing crops due to its arid and warm climate. The circular shape of the fields is a result of the irrigation system (center-pivot irrigation) which uses water from a huge fossil aquifer. The size of the field ranges from a few hundred meters up to almost one kilometer, limited by the size of the irrigation system. What started more than 40 years ago as a huge success story, ensuring domestic food security for the kingdom, is becoming more and more problematic as the once rich water reserves are depleting. As a result, Saudi Arabia is buying more and more fields abroad to satisfy domestic demand. More...

Agriculture in the Veneto Region, Italy (Barren Soil)

2019-04-16
S2L2A

Veneto agriculture is one of the most productive in Italy, producing mainly cereals, fruits, and wine. Small, hand farmed fields present a contrast to the growing industrialization of the sector, which suffers from soil degradation. The Barren Soil visualization shows that in the middle of spring still a lot of fields lie fallow indicated by the red color.

Agriculture in California, USA (NDVI)

2019-08-03
S2L2A

The Central Valley, west of California’s famous Sierra Nevada is home to the states biggest and most important agricultural region. The fields are irrigated on the one hand with water from the two major rivers of the valley (Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers) on the other hand with groundwater. Despite using less than 1% of the nation’s total farmland, the valley produces 25% of U.S. food. In total more than 250 different crops are grown, the most important being cereal grains, hay, cotton, different fruits and vegetable, and nuts.

Agriculture in Ethiopia (False Color)

2020-01-19
S2L2A

The area around Meraro in the Arsi zone which is part of the Ethiopian Highlands plays an important role in food security in Ethiopia. The agriculture in the region (and the country) was for a long time an intensive subsistence farming with 12 million smallholder farming households producing 95% of the country’s agricultural products. To become less dependent on foreign food imports and foster the countries development the agriculture sector was subject to big changes in the past years. More

Agriculture in West Bengal, India (False Color 11,8,2)

2020-01-25
S2L2A

The state of West Bengal where Belda is located is the most important rice and vegetable producer in whole India. Taking only 2.7% of the countries area, it provides food for almost 8% of the population. The state is dominated by small and marginal farms accounting for 96% of all farms. More

Agriculture in Vietnam (False Color 11,8,2)

2020-01-21
S2L2A

Agriculture in the Ca Mau district in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam consist mainly of aquacultures (shrimps, mud crabs), rice, and wood. The whole area is highly drained either by small streams or by channels derived from the streams. Ca Mau district is Vietnam’s largest shrimp producer covering 280.000 ha with shrimp farms which exported in 2019 shrimps worth around 1.2 billion dollars. More

Agriculture in Poland (Moisture Stress)

2019-06-03
S2L2A

Located next to the banks of the Warta river this pin shows different moisture stress and field arrangements on the opposite banks of the river. On the northern bank the fields are more regular distributed and show a lower moisture content, on the southern shore the fields are more diverse both in size and alignment and show a higher level of moisture. As the region has in general a quite low annual precipitation (~500 mm/yr) one explanation for the difference in moisture could be the higher prominence of lakes south of the river but also different field management techniques could play a role. Crops grown in the region are mainly cereals, to a smaller extend also rape, sugar beet, and potatoes. More

Agriculture along the Nile river (EVI)

2020-01-21
S2L2A

Due to fertile soil and regular flooding, the Nile river basin has supported agriculture for thousands of years. Close to 90 percent of the land currently used for agriculture is under rainfed farming systems (farming systems, that rely on rainfall). These systems are characterized by subsistence-level production and low yields of crops and livestock. There are about 5.6 million hectares of land under irrigation or equipped with irrigation facilities in the Nile Basin. A large proportion – 97 percent – of the land is located in Egypt and Sudan. Three countries – Egypt, Tanzania, and Uganda – produce large quantities of fish, but the freshwater fisheries resources of the basin are showing signs of being overfished. The top three crops grown in the basin are wheat, fodder, and maize. Livestock farming is also thriving, Ethiopia leading with more than 50 million heads of cattle. Learn more.

Agriculture in Zambia (Enhanced True Color)

2018-01-08
S2L2A

The agriculture north-east of the city Mumbwa in Zambia’s Central Province, is blessed by good climatic conditions as well as fertile soils. The main crops in the region are maize, cotton, soya beans, and sunflowers. Next to growing vegetables, the region hosts favorable conditions for livestock farming. The main species are cattle, sheep, and goats. In the western part of the pin several round structures can be observed. A result of center-pivot irrigation using groundwater.

Agriculture in Kansas, USA (False Color)

2020-01-27
S2L2A

The soils in Allen County in the state of Kansas are deep and fertile, providing the county and the state good conditions for a strong agriculture economy. Thus it doesn’t surprise that agriculture accounts for more than 40% of the state’s total income. The main crops are wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans as well as sunflowers. Livestock raised is mainly cattle and calves. More

Agriculture in Limpopo, South Africa (Enhanced True Color)

2019-06-11
S2L2A

South African agriculture's biggest challenge is the absence of water since rainfall doesn't come regularly. Hence, most agricultural fields are irrigated, helping make Limpopo an important part of the country's agriculture. Learn more.

Agriculture in Cambodia (False Color 11,8,2)

2019-12-15
S2L2A

Tonle Sap Lake and its surrounding is one of the most productive large wetland ecosystems in the whole world. People in the area are highly dependent on the natural resources the ecosystem provides and live mainly from farming and fishery. In total 70% of Cambodians work in agriculture. In the wet season which is mainly influenced by the monsoon, predominantly rice is cultivated. In the dry season also other vegetables and fruits. Due to the poor infrastructure in the region and no industrial management the productivity was traditionally however quite low. In recent years the region experienced rapid development. More and more irrigation structures have been built and the access to the lake's floodplains has been improved leading to more bountiful harvests. More

Agriculture in the Burdekin River Delta, Australia (False Color 11,8,2)

2019-08-17
S2L2A

Burdekin Shire situated in the delta of the Burdekin River is one of Queensland's biggest sugar cane producing shires accounting for 20% of the state’s total sugar cane production. On shire level sugar cane accounts for more than 75% of the agricultural output (in value terms) making it the most important agricultural plant in the region. On the pin agricultural fields are found on both sides of the Burdekin river and are displayed either in a bright green (vegetated) or in a dark brown (harvested/bare fields).

Agriculture in Ontario, Canada (Barren Soil)

2019-10-09
S2L2A

Agriculture is the dominant land use in southern Ontario even though only a small percentage of the total population is employed in this sector. Still, the whole province has around 50.000 farms (2016) and the average number of farms is increasing over the last years. The main crops cultivated are oilseeds and different grains, on the livestock side it is cattle. Next to the crops mentioned Ontario is the country’s main leader in growing greenhouse vegetables. More

Agriculture at the Israel-Jordan border

2020-01-26
S2L2A

Agriculture in the southern part of the dead sea region is dominated by salt ponds at the southern part of the dead sea and several fields mainly next to both sides of the Jordan Valley Highway. Due to rising global demand for sodium chloride and potassium salts, both found in the dead sea’s salt ponds, the ponds have grown rapidly in number towards the end of the last century. Since then their number stayed at a stable amount of around 50 ponds. The main crop grown on the field is dates but amongst others also tomatoes, eggplants, or olives are being cultivated. More

Rapeseed Flowering in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (True color)

2022-05-18
S2L2A

Oilseed rape is one of the main crops produced in Europe and is mainly used to produce biodiesel. During the flowering period (late April-early May), the fields are coloured by the distinctive yellow flowers, which can also be observed from space.

Timelapse: View here in EO Browser.