AfriCultuReS

Enhancing Food Security in AFRIcan AgriCULTUral Systems with the Support of REmote Sensing

AfriCultuReS aimed to design, implement, and demonstrate an integrated agricultural monitoring and early warning system to support decision-making in the field of food security. The project delivered a broad range of climatic, production, biophysical, and economic information for various regions in Africa. AfriCultuReS applied geospatial science to support sustainable agricultural development, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and poverty alleviation across the continent.

Supported by the GEO Secretariat, the project partners involved all key players of AfriGEOSS, GEOGLAM, SIGMA, ARTEMIS, the African Drought Observatory, and other initiatives, as well as partners representing the diversity of African agricultural systems. The aim was to advance the services provided by existing systems through innovative data fusion from multiple sources (EO, in-situ, citizen-based crowdsourcing, climate services, weather data, and crop models) in a vertical manner. Crop yield and biomass prediction models were enhanced by integrating EO data with climate models, with a strong emphasis on the complementary sensors of the EU Sentinels constellation.
Geospatial products were combined within a spatial Decision Support System (DSS) to enrich decision-making and risk assessment. The geo component of the DSS was designed in compliance with GEO’s interoperability standards, ensuring integration with the existing services of the GEOSS Common Infrastructure. African partners and collaborating networks played a crucial role in local training and in promoting the adoption of the project’s tools. Social innovation was leveraged to engage more stakeholders and improve the flow of information in a user-friendly way. The ultimate goal was to deliver a web-based tool to support early decision-making for stakeholders in African food production.