Agricultural land

File:Agricultural area over the long-term, OWID.svg

File:Agricultural-area-per-capita (1).svg

File:World Agricultural Land by Use.svg

File:Cropland Nitrogen Budget By Component And Region.svg.]]

File:Cropland Area (2021).svg

Under the FAO's definitions above, agricultural land covers 38.4% of the world's land area as of 2011. Permanent pastures are 68.4% of all agricultural land (26.3% of global land area), arable land (row crops) is 28.4% of all agricultural land (10.9% of global land area), and permanent crops (e.g. vineyards and orchards) are 3.1% (1.2% of global land area).[http://faostat3.fao.org/download/E/EL/E FAOSTAT data on land use] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901001921/http://faostat3.fao.org/download/E/EL/E |date=2016-09-01 }}, retrieved December 4, 2015[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100408082151/http://go.worldbank.org/6HAYAHG8H0 WDI –World Development Indicators online database], retrieved on July 18, 2008 (may require subscription for access; [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20131216044637/http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=5367096 print edition] from the World Bank).

• Total of land used to produce food: {{convert|49,116,227|sqkm|sp=us|disp=or}}
• Arable land: {{convert|13,963,743|sqkm|sp=us|disp=or}}
• Permanent pastures: {{convert|33,585,676|sqkm|sp=us|disp=or}}
• Permanent crops: {{convert|1,537,338|sqkm|sp=us|disp=or}}

In 2022, the global agricultural land area was 4.78 billion hectares (ha), down from 4.79 billion hectares in 2021. One-third of the total agricultural land was cropland (1.58 billion ha in 2021), which increased by 6 percent (0.09 billion ha).{{Cite book |last=FAO |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd2971en |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2024 |date=2024 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-139255-3 |language=English |doi=10.4060/cd2971en}}{{Cite book |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 {{!}} FAO {{!}} Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=FAODocuments | date=2023 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cc8166en| isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 }}

Asia had the largest share of the global cropland area in 2021 (37 percent), followed by the Americas (24 percent), Africa (19 percent), Europe (18 percent) and Oceania (2 percent). There were differences in cropland expansion in the different regions during this period – Oceania and Africa both had rapid growth in cropland area (33 percent and 27 percent), while Asia and the Americas had more moderate growth (4 percent and 2 percent). The cropland area of Europe declined between 2000 and 2021 by 5 percent. As aresult, the cropland area of Africa overtook that of Europe in 2018.{{Cite book |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 {{!}} FAO {{!}} Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=FAODocuments | date=2023 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cc8166en| isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 }}

Approximately 30 percent of global cropland and permanent meadows and pastures can be found in three countries. In 2021, 12 percent of global permanent meadows and pastures belonged to China, 10 percent to Australia, and 8 percent to the United States of America. For the same year, the largest share of global cropland was in India (11 percent), followed by the United States of America (10 percent) and China (8 percent).

Cropland area per capita decreased in all regions between 2000 and 2021 as population increased faster than the cropland area. The world average declined by 18 percent to 0.20 ha per capita in 2021; the decrease was the largest in Africa (−25 percent, to0.21 ha per capita), followed by the Americas and Asia (−17 percent each,to 0.37 ha per capita and 0.13 ha per capita, respectively), Europe and Oceania (−7 percent each, to 0.39 ha per capita and 0.77 ha per capita, respectively). The countries with the highest cropland area per capita are Kazakhstan, Australia and Canada, due to vast areas of land available.

Globally, the total amount of permanent pasture according to the FAO has been in decline since 1998,{{cite journal |author=Poore, Joseph |title=Call for conservation: Abandoned pasture |journal=Science |volume=351 |issue=6269 |date=January 2016 |doi=10.1126/science.351.6269.132-a |pmid=26744398 |pages=132|bibcode=2016Sci...351..132P }} in part due to a decrease of wool production in favor of synthetic fibers (such as polyester) and cotton.{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23531380-500-back-to-the-wild-how-nature-is-reclaiming-farmland/|title=Back to the wild: How nature is reclaiming farmland|website=newscientist.com|access-date=2018-05-02|archive-date=2018-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626135826/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23531380-500-back-to-the-wild-how-nature-is-reclaiming-farmland/|url-status=live}}

The decrease of permanent pasture, however, does not account for gross conversion (e.g. land extensively cleared for agriculture in some areas, while converted from agriculture to other uses elsewhere) and more detailed analyses have demonstrated this. For example, Lark et al. 2015 found that in the United States cropland increased by 2.98 million acres from 2008 to 2012 (comprising {{convert|7.34|million acres}} converted to agriculture, and {{convert|4.36|million acres}} converted from agriculture).{{Cite journal | doi=10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044003| title=Cropland expansion outpaces agricultural and biofuel policies in the United States| journal=Environmental Research Letters| volume=10| issue=4| pages=044003| year=2015| last1=Lark| first1=Tyler J.| last2=Meghan Salmon| first2=J.| last3=Gibbs| first3=Holly K.| bibcode=2015ERL....10d4003L| doi-access=free}}

Source: Helgi Library,{{cite web|url=http://helgilibrary.com/indicators/index/agricultural-land-area|title=HelgiLibrary - Agricultural Land Area|website=helgilibrary.com|access-date=2014-02-12|archive-date=2015-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222111135/http://www.helgilibrary.com/indicators/index/agricultural-land-area|url-status=live}} World Bank, FAOSTAT

Prices and rents for agricultural land depend on supply and demand.

Prices/rents rise when the supply of farmland on the market reduces. Landholders then put more land on the market – causing prices to fall. Conversely, land prices/rents fall when the demand for agricultural land declines because of falls in the returns from holding and using it. The immediate triggers for falls in land demand might be reductions in the demand for farm produce or in relevant government subsidies and tax reliefs.“The agricultural land market”, in Agricultural Businesses: Their Growth & Performance, ISR/Google Books, 2022. ISBN 9780906321782

The cost of Russian farmland is as little as €1,500–2,000 (£1,260–1,680) per hectare (ha) (£1,260–1,680).{{cite web|url=http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/09/12/2013/142338/the-future-of-farming-in-russia.htm|title=The future of farming in Russia - Farmers Weekly|date=9 December 2013|website=fwi.co.uk|access-date=15 March 2014|archive-date=17 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017205401/http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/09/12/2013/142338/the-future-of-farming-in-russia.htm|url-status=live}} This is comparatively inexpensive. Poor-quality farmland in France and Spain is sold at no lower than €10,000/ha.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

The average Russian farm measures 150 hectares (370 acres). The most prevalent crops in Russia are wheat, barley, corn, rice, sugar beet, soy beans, sunflower, potatoes and vegetables. Russian farmers harvested roughly 85–90 million tonnes of wheat annually in the years around 2010. Russia exported most to Egypt, Turkey and Iran in 2012; China was a significant export market as well. The average yield from the Krasnodar region was between 4 and 5 tonnes per ha, while the Russian average was only 2t/ha. The Basic Element Group, a conglomerate owned by Oleg Deripaska, is one of Russia's leading agricultural producers, and owns or manages 109,000ha of Russian farmland, out of 90m actual and 115m total (0.12% actual).

In 2013, Ukraine was ranked third in corn production and sixth in wheat production.{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/rob-insight/ukraine-crisis-sends-grain-prices-soaring/article17594643/|title=Ukraine crisis sends grain prices soaring|via=The Globe and Mail|access-date=2017-08-23|archive-date=2015-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127074822/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/rob-insight/ukraine-crisis-sends-grain-prices-soaring/article17594643/|url-status=live}} It was the main supplier of corn, wheat, and rape to Europe, although it is unclear whether the internal supply from countries like France were accounted in this calculation. Ukrainian farmers achieve 60% of the output per unit area of their North American competitors. UkrLandFarming PLC{{clarify|date=January 2022}} produces, from 650,000 hectares (1.6m acres), corn, wheat, barley, sugar beet, and sunflowers. Until 2014, the chief Ukrainian export terminal was the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

Prime farmland in Illinois is valued, as of August 2018, at $26,000 a hectare.{{cite news |last=Doran |first=Tom C. |date=9 September 2018 |title=Survey finds farmland values down slightly |url=http://www.agrinews-pubs.com/news/survey-finds-farmland-values-down-slightly/article_437a3828-f6e4-5680-b202-bb3e21f86173.html |work=AgriNews Publications |access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911011739/http://www.agrinews-pubs.com/news/survey-finds-farmland-values-down-slightly/article_437a3828-f6e4-5680-b202-bb3e21f86173.html |archive-date=11 September 2018 |url-status=dead }} Average cropland value in the Midwest according to 2020 data from the US Department of Agriculture is $4,607 per acre{{cite web|last=Penson|first=Dr. John|date=29 July 2021|title=2021 Cropland Investment Report|url=https://agamerica.com/farm-publications/crop-and-farmland-investment-report/|url-status=live|access-date=17 September 2021|website=AgAmerica|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917015306/https://agamerica.com/farm-publications/crop-and-farmland-investment-report/}} (about $11,000 per hectare).

• English land law
• Farmer
• Land grabbing

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