
Though South Asia has one of the largest cropland area as well as irrigated area, the region runs the risk of becoming food insecure because of its rapidly growing population. Information on the spatial distribution of agriculture and irrigation is crucial for policy making affecting sustainable agriculture and food security. Current low resolution crop extent datasets are inadequate in providing a complete and accurate picture of cropland. Detailed spatial distribution of croplands and agricultural water use at high spatial resolution are critical baseline data to understand crop and water dynamics, and to generate higher level products like crop type maps and biomass and yield assessments, which will aid decision making and planning for food security.