GEOGLAM Workshop on Data and Systems Requirements for Operational Agricultural Monitoring: final summary report

From 17 to 19 April 2018 the JRC hosted the GEOGLAM – CEOS Workshop on Data and Systems Requirements for Operational Agricultural Monitoring, co-organised with DG GROW, GEOGLAM¹ and EOFSAC².

The objective of the workshop was to develop a holistic characterisation of requirements for agricultural monitoring, from data needs to infrastructure and information services, in the GEOGLAM context.

The summary of the workshop was released this month. It gives a brief review of how Earth observation (EO) data are acquired, accessed and used for global agricultural monitoring by different operational entities, describes the status of and opportunities for information and computation technology platforms within the GEOGLAM community, and provides recommendations for enhancing GEOGLAM’s role as the curator of data, products, knowledge and technology. It also conveys feedback to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) on potential collaborative areas for expanding the adoption and sustained use of EO data.

Background to GEOGLAM

Since 2011, the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) Initiative coordinates Earth observation data for those undertaking cropland and rangeland monitoring at national, regional, and global scales. Critical to this has been a partnership with the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), which has maintained an Ad Hoc Working Group on GEOGLAM since 2012, tasked with evaluating and assisting with the implementation of GEOGLAM data requirements and requests for data acquisition.

The GEOGLAM-CEOS workshop brought together operational users of satellite data for agricultural monitoring at national, regional, and global scales, and provided an opportunity for discussion with CEOS representatives and data and service providers, in the context of GEOGLAM.

¹ GEOGLAM: Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring

² EOFSAC: Earth Observation for Food Security and Agricultural Consortium (NASA program)

Further information

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