Model suitability to assess regional potato yield patterns in northern Ecuador

► Proper model evaluation requires different criteria including user friendliness, sensitivity, relevance, and credibility. ► The empirical model, crop growth simulation model, and metamodel generate spatial patterns similar to interpolated observed yield. ► Increasing the level of spatial aggregation increased the similarity between simulated yield patterns and interpolated observed yield. ► Regional patterns of potato yield are determined by a limited number of driving factors.