Bulletin

wall bulletin
OverviewCrop and environmental conditions in major production zones

Authors: yannn | Edit: lirui

Chapter 2 presents the same indicators—RAIN, TEMP, RADPAR, and BIOMSS— as those used in Chapter 1, and combines them with the agronomic indicators—cropped arable land fraction (CALF), maximum vegetation condition index (VCIx),  minimum vegetation health index (VHIn), Cropping Intensity (CI) and Crop Production Index (CPI) — to describe crop condition in six Major Production Zones (MPZ) across all continents. For more information about these zones and methodologies used, see the quick reference guide in Annex B as well as the CropWatch bulletin online resources at http://cloud.cropwatch.com.cn/web/method. 


2.1 Overview


Tables 2.1 and 2.2 present an overview of the agroclimatic (Table 2.1) and agronomic (Table 2.2) indicators for each of the six MPZs, comparing the indicators to their fifteen-year and five-year averages, respectively. The text mostly refers simply to "average" with the averaging period implied.


Table 2.1 Agroclimatic indicators by Major Production Zone, current value and departure from 15YA (July-October 2024)


RAIN

TEMP

RADPAR

BIOMSS


Current

 (mm)

Departure  (%)

Current

(°C)

Departure(°C)

Current

(MJ/m2)

Departure  (%)

Current

(gDM/m2)

Departure (%)

West   Africa

854

-6

25.2

0.3

1040

-6

1209

-7

North   America

304

-12

21.6

1.1

1179

4

734

-14

South   America

210

-39

20.1

0.5

1061

4

618

-16

South and   SE Asia

1425

5

26.0

0.6

1100

2

1434

5

Western   Europe

388

27

16.5

0.5

954

-1

823

9

C. Europe   and W. Russia

198

-21

17.1

1.8

942

6

597

-12

Note: Departures are expressed in relative terms (percentage) for all variables, except for temperature, for which absolute departure in degrees Celsius is given. Zero means no change from the average value; relative departures are calculated as (C-R)/R*100, with C=current value and R=reference value, which is the fifteen-year average (15YA) for the same period (July-October) for 2009-2023.


Table2.2 Agronomic indicators by Major Production Zone, current season values and departure from 5YA (July-October 2024)



Cropped arable land   fraction

Maximum VCI 

Cropping Intensity

Minimum VHI

CPI


Current (%)

Departure  (%)

Current

Current (%)

Departure  (%)

Current (%)

Current

West   Africa

98

1

0.93

134

0

26

1.01

North   America

93

0

0.87

111

2

27

0.99

South   America

83

-4

0.74

129

-1

20

0.88

South and   SE Asia

98

1

0.94

161

6

36

1.00

Western   Europe

91

1

0.89

131

1

33

1.01

C Europe   and W Russia

92

-4

0.81

112

-6

26

0.88

Note: See note for Table 2.1, with reference value R defined as the five-year average (5YA) for the same period (July-October) for 2019-2023. 


West Africa's CPI is 1.01, and the crop production situation was slightly favorable during this report season. Precipitation and radiation decreased by 6%, and biomass decreased by 7%. CALF was above average by 1%, VCIx was 0.93, and crop intensity (CI) is 134%. So far, the crop production prospects for this season are assessed as average.

North America's CPI value is 0.99, indicating a slight unfavorable agricultural production situation. Due to the below average precipitation by 12% and above average temperature by 1.1°C, biomass decreased by 14%. CALF was 93%, VCIx was 0.87, and crop intensity is above average by 2%, indicating high cropland utilization and slight unfavorable crop conditions. Crop production is expected to be normal. 

South America's and Central Europe and W Russia’s CPI are 0.88, indicating lower levels of agricultural production. The precipitations in the two regions were below average by 39% and 21%, while the tempratures were above average by 0.5°C and 1.1°C, these unfavorable weather conditons resulted in the decreasing biomass by 16% and 12%, respectively. The agronomic conditions were not favorable. The CALF and CI values in both regions were below average, and VCIx values were 0.74 and 0.81 for the two regions. Crop production is expected to be below average, especially in eastern Europe, due to the rainfall deficit.

South and Southeast Asia's CPI is 1.00. The agroclimatic conditions were favorable with the precipitation, temperature, radition and biomass above average by 5%, 0.6°C, 2% and 5%, respectively. The CALF and CI values were above average, and VCIx value was high at 0.94, indicating high cropland utilization and good crop conditions. The agricultural production outlook is normal for this MPZ.

Western Europe's CPI is 1.01, with overall crop growth conditions close to average.  Due to the above average precipitation and temperature (RAIN +27%; TEMP +0.5°C), the biomass increased by 9%.  Both the CALF and CI values were slightly above average by 1%, and VCIx was 0.89. The agricultural production outlook is expected to be normal.

                                

Figure 2.1 Spatial distribution of CPI in six major production zones (MPZs) worldwide

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