1. Food security
Stakeholder meeting Pilsner
25th of Septmber 2019
Karel Charvat
Plan4all, Club of Ossiach, WirelessInfo
This project has received funding from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under
grant agreement No 821940
www.EO4AGRI.eu
Bringing together the knowledge
for better Agriculture Monitoring
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Specific statement of purpose for
engagement on Global Food Security
• EU food security depends on food security in non-EU countries and
regions.
• These regions include EU enlargement candidates and its
neighbourhood regions, as well as the regions of Africa, Asia and
Latin America.
• As is the case in Europe, the food systems of these regions are subject
to risk from climate change, resource scarcity and weaknesses in the
management of agricultural lands and agricultural production
systems.
• They too can benefit from the use of EO data and services provided by
the COPERNICUS system.
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Specific statement of purpose for
engagement on Global Food Security
• The EO4AGRI project works with non-EU countries in order to
understand what is needed to enable the application of
practices in agricultural production and finance based on this
technology.
• Challenges include capacity building, and adaptation of
practices based on use of EO data and services to local farm-
business systems.
• One of the outputs of this activity will be the production of a
white paper aimed at the EC and international donors,
accompanied by a strategic research agenda, policy roadmap
and collaboration framework containing actionable
recommendations on wat needs to be done to close the policy
practice gap at region and farm level.
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Early engagement with international
Food Security actors
A limited number of key actors need to be identified
It is required to provide advice on
• How to accelerate impact, based on a better coordination
with existing initiatives,
• How to boost public and private investments in African
sustainable agriculture
• Identify strategies to promote and prioritise agricultural policy
and regulatory reform in African countries (in line with the
Malabo Declaration)
• Identify strategies to support African youth working in
agriculture, agribusiness and agroindustry
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Organization dealing with security
• Policy level
• European Commission (EC)
• African Commission (AC)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD)
• World Bank (WB)
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Organization dealing with security
• Policy level
• European Commission (EC)
• African Commission (AC)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD)
• World Bank (WB)
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Organization dealing with security
• Supporting organization
• The Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
• Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring
Initiative (GEOGLAM)
• Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition: GODAN
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Groups of local stakeholders mainly
in Africa
• Farmers and farmer organization
• Non-Governmental organizations
• Service organizations
• ICT developers
• Researchers
• Governmental organizations
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The main identified requirements in
this stage were
• Data for yield modelling for food security
• Data for food security information
• Data for cross-border land monitoring, given the
interconnectedness environmental problems that cross-
country borders which are connected food security
• Data for near real-time vegetation biomass measurements for
agriculture and food security during the cropping season
• Data for early warning information for food security
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New User Requirements
• To assess risks/threats to sensitive ecosystems like forests and
wetlands. Forests and wetlands are known contributors to food
security particularly when sustainably used.
• Used weather data and biomass to generate index-based services
for Banking and insurance such as Weather and Yield
• Sampling plots from different agro-climatic zones in and monitoring
growth using earth observation techniques together with ancillary
data like weather data and biophysical data.
• Crop growth scenarios under different weather events. Growth plan
– a time interval when to start planting to maximize yield as
possibilities are nitrogen plan – a time interval when to insert
nitrogen fertilization to maximize its effect, Insect pests alert – alert
when a risk of insect pest attack is high
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New User Requirements
• Prediction of disease susceptibility of crop using the temporal crop
dynamics from earth observation data. Using historic al data of crop
disease and connecting them with features extracted from earth
observation data for generating alert of probable crop disease.
• Accurate monitoring crop phenology to aid the application of farm inputs
like fertilizers, irrigation and farm management.
• Assessment of hydrological flows through a combination of field
observations and output from satellite image analysis workflows.
• Augmenting weather and climate monitoring through the use of
affordable in-situ weather sensors and remote sensed weather estimates.
• Sentinel 1, 2 has spatial resolution of 20 m so small farmers can be
benefited by the products developed using images from these satellites.
• LandSat can particularly be used for awareness creation on issues like land
degradation and land use change and its influence on land health and the
potential areas that can be used for farming.
• Need for access to very high-resolution data, which are mainly available as
commercial services
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Outline possibilities of realization of
New User Requirements
• Financial resources – there is lack of financial resources in private
sector in developing countries, so there cannot be expected local
financial investment. Financial support trough different funds is
usually not coordinated and there are no synergies among this
supports
• Capacity resources – there is strong need for capacity building in
developing countries, this not include only passive training, but also
possibilities of active training and cooperation. Common projects,
where partners from developing countries are actively participating
on research activities or organize such events as hackathon etc
could help to developing countries
• Lack of infrastructure and access to data – in some countries is
already relatively well-developed infrastructure (South Africa,
Kenya), but in many countries is such infrastructure missing, there is
problem to access information from the side of end users (coverage
of networks and in some countries also electricity is missing)
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Outline possibilities of realization of
New User Requirements
• Coordinate support actions for developing countries in area
of Earth Observation – such role could be taken by Group for
Earth Observation (GEO) or GODAN
• Subsidies existing infrastructure for example DIAS for
developing countries. It means not only passive receiving of
services, but also for developing of new applications
• Subsidies access to commercial VHR data and meteorological
and climatic data for purposes of farming in developing
countries
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Outline possibilities of realization of
New User Requirements
• Support training for African researchers and companies to
developed new applications through new projects, training
and hackathons. Incubation activities for example supported
by DIAS platforms can be such instrument
• Support building of infrastructures including IoT
infrastructures
• The sector analysis for user requirements have to be overlaid
with an integrated, cross sector and cross border analysis
including integrated balance models. Otherwise one sector
might benefit and other sectors might lose. For a sustainable
and long-term management of the entire globe these
questions become of highest importance. IT and new satellite
information using integrated technology AND sector know
how in background will be able to manage it.
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Recommendations for the Food and
Nutrition Security sector
• It is necessary to organize additional discussion focused on
Food and Nutrition sector in next future and try to coordinate
activities among different actors. As nearest possibility is GEO
Week 2019 and the GEO Ministerial Summit, which will be
organised In November 2019 in Canberra, Australia.
Preliminary interest about such discussion expressed
GEOGLAM, GODAN and FAO. This could be chance to meet
global players and agreed next steps. EO4Agri will play role of
moderator.
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Support on level of EC
• Research activities support in direct target for developing
countries
• Coordinate EuroAid activities with research activities and
international activities.
19. Thank you for your attention
Karel Charvat
charvat@plan4all
www.EO4AGRI.eu
This project has received funding from the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 821940
