The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the collaboration of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), has developed a system that enables rational land-use planning on the basis of an inventory of land resources and evaluation of biophysical limitations and potentials. This is referred to as the Agro-ecological Zones (AEZ) methodology.

A general characterization of moisture conditions is achieved through the concept of length of growing period (LGP), i.e. the period during the year when both moisture availability and temperature are conducive to crop growth. Thus, in a formal sense, LGP refers to the number of days within the period of temperatures above 5°C when moisture conditions are considered adequate. Under rain-fed conditions, the begin of the LGP is linked to the start of the rainy season. For establishing crops, 0.4 - 0.5 times the level of reference evapotranspiration is considered sufficient to meet water requirements of dryland crops (FAO 1978-81a; 1979; 1992a). This layer is a result of the Agro-ecological Zones (AEZ) methodology for land productivity assessments and is part of the Global Agro-ecological Zoning Database.

Total volume of liquid water (mm3) precipitated over the period 00h-24h local time per unit of area (mm2), per dekade. Unit: mm dekade-1. The Precipitation flux variable is part of the Agrometeorological indicators dataset produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) through the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The Agrometeorological indicators dataset provides daily surface meteorological data for the period from 1979 to present as input for agriculture and agro-ecological studies. This dataset is based on the hourly ECMWF ERA5 data at surface level and is referred to as AgERA5. References: https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.6c68c9bb The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) aims to combine observations of the climate system with the latest science to develop authoritative, quality-assured information about the past, current and future states of the climate in Europe and worldwide. ECMWF operates the Copernicus Climate Change Service on behalf of the European Union and will bring together expertise from across Europe to deliver the service.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the collaboration of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), has developed a system that enables rational land-use planning on the basis of an inventory of land resources and evaluation of biophysical limitations and potentials. This is referred to as the Agro-ecological Zones (AEZ) methodology.

As part of the the World Bank's review of its rural development strategy, the Bank sought the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in evaluating how farming systems might change and adapt over the next thirty years. Amongst other objectives, the World Bank asked FAO to provide guidance on priorities for investment in food security, poverty reduction, and economic growth, and in particular to identify promising approaches and technologies that will contribute to these goals. The results of the study are summarized in a set of seven documents, comprising six regional reports and the global overview contained in this volume. This document, which synthesises the results of the six regional analyses as well as discussing global trends, cross-cutting issues and possible implementation modalities, presents an overview of the complete study. This document is supplemented by two case study reports of development issues of importance to farming systems globally.

Total volume of liquid water (mm3) precipitated over the period 00h-24h local time per unit of area (mm2), per year. Unit: mm year-1. The Precipitation flux variable is part of the Agrometeorological indicators dataset produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) through the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The Agrometeorological indicators dataset provides daily surface meteorological data for the period from 1979 to present as input for agriculture and agro-ecological studies. This dataset is based on the hourly ECMWF ERA5 data at surface level and is referred to as AgERA5. References: https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.6c68c9bb The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) aims to combine observations of the climate system with the latest science to develop authoritative, quality-assured information about the past, current and future states of the climate in Europe and worldwide. ECMWF operates the Copernicus Climate Change Service on behalf of the European Union and will bring together expertise from across Europe to deliver the service.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the collaboration of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), has developed a system that enables rational land-use planning on the basis of an inventory of land resources and evaluation of biophysical limitations and potentials. This is referred to as the Agro-ecological Zones (AEZ) methodology.

As part of the the World Bank's review of its rural development strategy, the Bank sought the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in evaluating how farming systems might change and adapt over the next thirty years. Amongst other objectives, the World Bank asked FAO to provide guidance on priorities for investment in food security, poverty reduction, and economic growth, and in particular to identify promising approaches and technologies that will contribute to these goals. The results of the study are summarized in a set of seven documents, comprising six regional reports and the global overview contained in this volume. This document, which synthesises the results of the six regional analyses as well as discussing global trends, cross-cutting issues and possible implementation modalities, presents an overview of the complete study. This document is supplemented by two case study reports of development issues of importance to farming systems globally.

The whole set of simulated data contains over 400 Gb (hourly data for 10 years) after conversion to ASCII format. Warning: These "data" are not based on reanalysis of observations, but just on modeling with initial and boundary conditions from CMCC-CPS output. The high resolution modeling is an experiment. Especially the calculated precipitation may have systematic deviations from the observations. The purpose of these synthetic data is to test the merit or lack of merit of high-resolution modeling. The model grid is not aligned with latitude and longitude, so interpolation of the data may be necessary. The output is stored in separate files for each grid. Data content: 1.Temperature at 20 m (°C); 2. Specific humidity at 20 m (g/kg); 3. Wind speed at 20 m; 4. Wind direction at 20 m; 5. Short wave radiation (W/m2); 6. Sensible heat flux (W/m2); 7. Latent heat flux (W/m2, can be converted directly to evaporation in mm/h); 8. Cumulated precipitation (mm); Data storage: presently the data are stored in binary files. For each month there are 4 files: one file per ½ calender month - grid - combination. After conversion to text format, the size is about 2.5 Mb (outer grid) or almost 2 Mb (inner grid) for each simulated hour. The size of the whole set converted to ASCII is over 400 Gb. The simulated weather data or data-excerpts can be made available on demand only. Please contact Antoon Meesters at a.g.c.a.meesters@vu.nl to place your request. This data model has been produced in the framework of the "Climate change predictions in Sub-Saharan Africa: impacts and adaptations (ClimAfrica)" project, Work Package 2 (WP2). More information on ClimAfrica project is provided in the Supplemental Information section of this metadata.

Derived from the Global Agro-Ecological Zones Study, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Land and Water Development Division (AGL) with the collaboration of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), 2000. Data averaged over a period of 37 years. Raster data-set has been exported as ASCII raster file type.