GFSAD workshop reviewed progress in global agricultural mapping
1 min readThe US Geological Survey said the Global Food-and-Water Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Project held its 5th Workshop on October 15-16, 2026, at the Flagstaff Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. The report was published Wednesday 21 October 2026.
Scientists, researchers and collaborators from the USGS, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, San Diego State University and Northern Arizona University reviewed accomplishments, ongoing research, scientific developments, products, publications and future directions. The NASA-funded project develops global agricultural information at 30-meter and increasingly 10-meter spatial resolutions using satellite remote sensing, cloud computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
The workshop highlighted the Global Cropland Extent Product (GCEP30), described as the first global cropland map at 30-meter resolution derived from Landsat time-series data. It also covered work on the Global Cropland Extent Product Version 2 (GCEP10), which aims to capture fragmented smallholder agriculture and rapidly changing agricultural landscapes.
Researchers presented the AlphaEarth Foundation satellite embeddings, consisting of 64-dimensional AI-generated representations at 10-meter resolution. Presentations addressed cropland extent, irrigation status, crop intensity, crop types, irrigated and rainfed agriculture and crop water productivity. The WGSC team examined methods combining field measurements, satellite remote sensing and evapotranspiration estimates.
Two Africa products were completed and presented. They were the AlphaEarth Foundation Derived Global Cropland Extent Product at 10 m for Africa for the Year 2020 Version 2 and the AlphaEarth Foundation Derived Global Rainfed and Irrigated Cropland Product at 10 m for Africa for the Year 2020 Version 2. The work supports cropland, irrigated-area and rainfed-area mapping across Africa.
South Asia work included the SouthAsiaCEP10 and SAIR10 products at 10-meter resolution. Researchers discussed challenges including monsoon cloud cover, mixed cropping systems, paddy rice cultivation, fragmented farm ownership, seasonal irrigation practices and heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. The workshop also recognized the release of the Landsat-derived Global Crop Intensity Product (LGCIP30) for 2020.
