On the afternoon of November 10, Zhou Shuang, Analyst at the Macro Agricultural Research Institute (MARI) of Huazhong Agricultural University, presented research titled “A Global Map of Crop Distribution: From Statistics to Grid” at the MARI Seminar. The event was moderated by Associate Professor Liu Xiaotian from the School of Economics and Management.

Zhou Shuang began by introducing the background and developmental history of the Spatial Production Allocation Model (SPAM). She then focused on the data preparation, preprocessing, model construction, and results of SPAM2020, and showcased global distribution maps for several crops. Finally, Zhou Shuang highlighted the limitations of the current study, proposed measures for improvement, and suggested potential directions for future research.

During the discussion session, Zhou Shuang addressed potential issues in using raster data, using Indonesia as an example in the map product to illustrate the inherent possibility of insufficient resolution and the methods to address it. He also engaged in a thorough discussion with faculty and students on other topics, including the sources of model input data and the advantages of the model.

Written by Shuang Zhou