Harvest and IFPRI Food Security Portal Joint Webinar Demonstrates Strong Interest in Use of Satellite Data for Food Security
On October 31, 2019 the NASA Harvest Consortium in collaboration with the IFPRI Food Security Portal held our first joint webinar, Using Satellite Imagery for Early Warning of Productivity Constraints. IFPRI Senior Research Coordinator, Summer Allen, and Harvest Associate Director and Manager, Alyssa Whitcraft, envisioned the webinar as an opportunity for interested actors in all areas of the agriculture sector to discuss the potential of satellite imagery for food crisis early warning systems. The reality far exceeded expectations with over 130 registered participants, filling the maximum capacity of the webinar meeting room. The virtual meeting provided a place to share the current state of knowledge and to identify areas for new partnerships and furthering existing collaborative efforts. Moderated by Greg Husak, the event included presentations from several of our other partners including:
Monitoring Yields and Farm Size in Tanzania with Satellite and Drone Data
Summer Allen, Senior Research Coordinator, IFPRI and Soonho Kim, Senior Data Manager, IFPRI
Using Satellite Data to Estimate Cropped Area and Yield for African Countries
Molly Brown, Research Professor, University of Maryland; Science Officer, 6th Grain
Satellite Mapping in Kenya and Nepal for Understanding Yield Variability and Informing Crop Management
Jake Campolo, Ph.D Student in Earth System Science, Stanford University
Remote Sensing Based Yield Model and Application to Major Exporting Countries
Belen Franch, Distinguished Researcher, University of Valencia
Intersecting a Global Sub-National Agricultural Statistics Archive with Sub-National Weather, Climate, Food Price, and Population Datasets for Early Warning
Gary Eilerts, Independent Consultant for NASA
Predicting High-Magnitude, Low-Frequency Crop Losses Using Machine Learning: An Application to Cereal Crops in Ethiopia
James Warner, Research Coordinator, IFPRI
To move the accuracy of food crisis predictions forward, the NASA Harvest Consortium is working to enhance the use of satellite data in decision-making related to food security and agriculture worldwide. Researchers from the Food Security Portal make up a part of the Consortium and conduct research on the use of satellite data to predict crop loss, while other Harvest members and researchers work on parallel research questions in the food security and early warning space. Webinars such as these allow for a collaborative space for researchers and stakeholders around the world to learn from each other and to further their efforts towards enhancing global food security.
Keep an eye out for future webinars and events!