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Potato_Octopi t1_ir3euqv wrote

Reply to comment by Sininenn in Global Agricultural Land Use v. Agricultural Production [OC] by rosetechnology

It's as good as any other shorthand. Weight, volume and calories are all insufficient, as different crops output different values. $ value of an agricultural commodity index hasn't changed radically over the decades.

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Sininenn t1_ir3uftd wrote

It's not good enough.

And it sure as hell does not give a clear picture, as hiking prices would have the exact same effect than production efficiency.

And from this graph, you have no way of distinguishing which reason it actually is.

That's why it is a wrong metric to choose.

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Potato_Octopi t1_ir3v5ax wrote

What would you prefer? Corn or wheat yields as a proxy?

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Sininenn t1_ir402ub wrote

Overall yield, either average or median of all grown crops, in tonnes or calories, for example.

To show efficiency, possibly along with water usage needed and normalized per square kilometer.

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