Least developed countries: UN classification | Cereal production (metric tons)
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 and those used for grazing are excluded. Development relevance: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that cereals supply 51 percent of Calories and 47 percent of protein in the average diet. The total annual cereal production globally is about 2,500 million tons. FAO estimates that maize (corn), wheat and rice together account for more than three-fourths of all grain production worldwide. In developed countries, cereal crops are universally machine-harvested, typically using a combine harvester, which cuts, threshes, and winnows the grain during a single pass across the field. In many industrialized countries, particularly in the United States and Canada, farmers commonly deliver their newly harvested grain to a grain elevator or a storage facility that consolidates the crops of many farmers. In developing countries, a variety of harvesting methods are used in cereal cultivation, depending on the cost of labor, from small combines to hand tools such as the scythe or cradle. Crop production systems have evolved rapidly over the past century and have resulted in significantly increased crop yields, but have also created undesirable environmental side-effects such as soil degradation and erosion, pollution from chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals and a loss of bio-diversity. Factors such as the green revolution, has led to impressive progress in increasing cereals yields over the last few decades. This progress, however, is not equal across all regions. Continued progress depends on maintaining agricultural research and education. The cultivation of cereals varies widely in different countries and depends partly upon the development of the economy. Production depends on the nature of the soil, the amount of rainfall, irrigation, quality of seeds, and the techniques applied to promote growth. Limitations and exceptions: Data on cereal production may be affected by a variety of reporting and timing differences. Millet and sorghum, which are grown as feed for livestock and poultry in Europe and North America, are used as food in Africa, Asia, and countries of the former Soviet Union. So some cereal crops are excluded from the data for some countries and included elsewhere, depending on their use. The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations through annual questionnaires and are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. Thus, data on agricultural land in different climates may not be comparable. For example, permanent pastures are quite different in nature and intensity in African countries and dry Middle Eastern countries. The data collected from official national sources. Statistical concept and methodology: A cereal is a grass cultivated for the edible components of their grain, composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; cereal crops therefore can also be called staple crops. Cereals production data relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) allocates production data to the calendar year in which the bulk of the harvest took place. Most of a crop harvested near the end of a year will be used in the following year.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source
Least developed countries: UN classification | Cereal production (metric tons)
1960
1961 52279281
1962 52340878
1963 56028069
1964 57587953
1965 56669942
1966 53752520
1967 60224618
1968 59451809
1969 62609929
1970 61587782
1971 59356255
1972 57540596
1973 61090033
1974 61514820
1975 66149598
1976 66703334
1977 67480549
1978 69692797
1979 67482252
1980 75761782
1981 77942290
1982 76003238
1983 79389905
1984 76099116
1985 83018320
1986 83689255
1987 81457088
1988 89189775
1989 91591107
1990 89029973
1991 91726171.65
1992 90857493.05
1993 96073789.25
1994 95164419.8
1995 100161644.93
1996 107978041.18
1997 104260629.79
1998 110510636.46
1999 119650525.81
2000 119885108.9
2001 126168201.12
2002 127944079.96
2003 137026365.09
2004 133166439.04
2005 151813314.71
2006 159173735.01
2007 166115940.4
2008 176262577.77
2009 185083235.35
2010 196885500.95
2011 192863879.03
2012 199435080.69
2013 204498901.64
2014 214287855.88
2015 208415309.1
2016 214613298.16
2017 222933090.16
2018 230596717.52
2019 227232126.13
2020 235173475.69
2021 234299361.56
2022
Least developed countries: UN classification | Cereal production (metric tons)
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 and those used for grazing are excluded. Development relevance: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that cereals supply 51 percent of Calories and 47 percent of protein in the average diet. The total annual cereal production globally is about 2,500 million tons. FAO estimates that maize (corn), wheat and rice together account for more than three-fourths of all grain production worldwide. In developed countries, cereal crops are universally machine-harvested, typically using a combine harvester, which cuts, threshes, and winnows the grain during a single pass across the field. In many industrialized countries, particularly in the United States and Canada, farmers commonly deliver their newly harvested grain to a grain elevator or a storage facility that consolidates the crops of many farmers. In developing countries, a variety of harvesting methods are used in cereal cultivation, depending on the cost of labor, from small combines to hand tools such as the scythe or cradle. Crop production systems have evolved rapidly over the past century and have resulted in significantly increased crop yields, but have also created undesirable environmental side-effects such as soil degradation and erosion, pollution from chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals and a loss of bio-diversity. Factors such as the green revolution, has led to impressive progress in increasing cereals yields over the last few decades. This progress, however, is not equal across all regions. Continued progress depends on maintaining agricultural research and education. The cultivation of cereals varies widely in different countries and depends partly upon the development of the economy. Production depends on the nature of the soil, the amount of rainfall, irrigation, quality of seeds, and the techniques applied to promote growth. Limitations and exceptions: Data on cereal production may be affected by a variety of reporting and timing differences. Millet and sorghum, which are grown as feed for livestock and poultry in Europe and North America, are used as food in Africa, Asia, and countries of the former Soviet Union. So some cereal crops are excluded from the data for some countries and included elsewhere, depending on their use. The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations through annual questionnaires and are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. Thus, data on agricultural land in different climates may not be comparable. For example, permanent pastures are quite different in nature and intensity in African countries and dry Middle Eastern countries. The data collected from official national sources. Statistical concept and methodology: A cereal is a grass cultivated for the edible components of their grain, composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; cereal crops therefore can also be called staple crops. Cereals production data relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) allocates production data to the calendar year in which the bulk of the harvest took place. Most of a crop harvested near the end of a year will be used in the following year.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source