Please note that the following information along with the dataset is taken from http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC From the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Context

Crop statistics are recorded for 173 products, covering the following categories: Crops Primary, Fibre Crops Primary, Cereals, Coarse Grain, Citrus Fruit, Fruit, Jute Jute-like Fibres, Oilcakes Equivalent, Oil crops Primary, Pulses, Roots and Tubers, Tree nuts and Vegetables and Melons. Data are expressed in terms of area harvested, production quantity, and yield. The objective is to comprehensively cover the production of all primary crops for all countries and regions in the world. Cereals: Area and production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage or used for grazing are therefore excluded. Area data relate to harvested area. Some countries report sown or cultivated area only

If FAO is to carry out its work successfully it will need to know where and why hunger and malnutrition exist, what forms they take, and how widespread they are. Such data will serve as a basis for making plans, determining the efficacy of measures used, and measuring progress from time to time.

Content

Statistical concepts and definitions - Areas refer to the area under cultivation. Area under cultivation means the area that corresponds to the total sown area, but after the harvest it excludes ruined areas (e.g. due to natural disasters). If the same land parcel is used twice in the same year, the area of this parcel can be counted twice. For tree crops, some countries provide data in terms of number of trees instead of in area. This number is then converted to an area estimate using typical planting density conversions. Production means the harvested production. Harvested production means production including on-holding losses and wastage, quantities consumed directly on the farm and marketed quantities, indicated in units of basic product weight. Harvest year means the calendar year in which the harvest begins. Yield means the harvested production per ha for the area under cultivation. Seed quantity comprises all amounts of the commodity in question used during the reference period for reproductive purposes, such as seed or seedlings. Whenever official data are not available, seed figures can be estimated either as a percentage of production or by multiplying a seed rate (the average amount of seed needed per hectare planted) with the planted area of the particular crop of the subsequent year. Usually, the average seed rate in any given country does not vary greatly from year to year.

Statistical unit: Agriculture holdings cultivated for the production of crops.

Statistical population: All areas cultivated with crops in a country.

Reference area: All countries of the world and geographical aggregates according to the United Nations M-49 list.

Time coverage: 1961-2018 (up to 2017 for all elements computed from FBS framework, e.g. seed, derived/processed commodities)

Periodicity: Annual

Pelase note that the information on flags and units used can be found along with the dataset.

Acknowledgements

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Statistics Division (ESS), Environment Statistics team, Mr. Salar Tayyib. Source - http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC/metadata

Inspiration

Initially found this dataset when I was working on a school project regarding the crops most popular in spain. Found this extremely useful in determining the most popular crops and visualizing the same.