  Satellite Earth observations (EO) can provide affordable and timely
information for assessing crop conditions and food production. Such monitoring
systems are essential in Africa, where there is high food insecurity and sparse
agricultural statistics. EO-based monitoring systems require accurate cropland
maps to provide information about croplands, but there is a lack of data to
determine which of the many available land cover maps most accurately identify
cropland in African countries. This study provides a quantitative evaluation
and intercomparison of 11 publicly available land cover maps to assess their
suitability for cropland classification and EO-based agriculture monitoring in
Africa using statistically rigorous reference datasets from 8 countries. We
hope the results of this study will help users determine the most suitable map
for their needs and encourage future work to focus on resolving inconsistencies
between maps and improving accuracy in low-accuracy regions.
