Published July 24, 2020 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Designing AfriCultuReS services to support food security in Africa

Creators

  • 1. Department of Hydraulics, Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece
  • 2. 2 GMV Aerospace and Defence S.A.U., Remote Sensing Services and Exploitation Platforms Division. Isaac Newton 11 (PTM), E-28760 Tres Cantos, Spain
  • 3. 3 Scuola di ingegneria Aerospaziale – Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
  • 4. 4 Department of Meteorology and Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
  • 5. 5 Meteorology Group, Dpto. de Matemática Aplicada y Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Avda. de los Castros, s/n, 39005, Spain
  • 6. 6 Earth Observation directorate, South African National Space Agency, The Enterprise Building, Mark Shuttleworth Street, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
  • 7. 7 Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, UK
  • 8. 8 Sheffield Institute for International Development, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
  • 9. 9 Center for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, University of Rwanda, Rwanda

Description

Earth Observation (EO) data are increasingly being used to monitor vegetation and detect plant growth anomalies due to water stress, drought, or pests, as well as to monitor water availability, weather conditions, disaster risks, land-use/land-cover changes and to evaluate soil degradation. Satellite data are provided regularly by worldwide organizations, covering a wide variety of spatial, temporal and spectral characteristics. In addition, climate and crop growth models provide early estimates of the expected weather patterns and yield, which can be improved by fusion with EO data. The project “AfriCultuReS” is capitalizing on the above to contribute towards an integrated agricultural monitoring and early warning system for Africa, supporting decision making in the field of food security. The aim of this paper is to present the design of EO services within the project, and how they will support food security in Africa. The designed services cover the users' requirements related to climate, drought, land, livestock, crops, water, and weather. For each category of services, results from one case study are presented. The services will be distributed to the stakeholders and are expected to provide a continuous monitoring framework for early and accurate assessment of factors affecting food security in Africa.

Files

Alexandridis 2020_Designing AfriCultuReS services_Green open version_Acknowledgment.pdf

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Additional details

Funding

AfriCultuReS – Enhancing Food Security in AFRIcan AgriCULTUral Systems with the Support of REmote Sensing 774652
European Commission