The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is organizing a webinar on 17 April 2024 at 10:00 - 11:30 CEST. In the context of the Soil-Land-Water Digital Integrated Information System (SoLaWISe) initiative, the webinar entitled “Adaptive and innovative tools and approaches for crop mapping” is designed in order to address strategies and tools for effective mapping and monitoring of crop types with worldwide applications. In the rapidly evolving landscape of agricultural technology, the capacity to accurately map and monitor crop types has emerged as a cornerstone for enhancing productivity, sustainability and implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. As the agricultural sector seeks innovative ways to meet the increasing global food demands while minimizing environmental impact, this webinar provides a timely exploration of the latest technological advancements and methodologies. Participants will gain insights into cutting-edge tools and strategies, including remote sensing, GIS technologies, and data analytics, which are pivotal in optimizing crop health, improving yield predictions, and ensuring efficient resource use. This event not only aims to bridge the gap between current agricultural practices and future needs but also to foster a community of informed stakeholders who are equipped to navigate and contribute to the future of farming. This webinar is part of a longer effort on enhancing knowledge and sharing experiences on monitoring crops using remote sensing. We invite you to join us and discover how geospatial applications can play a vital role in crop type mapping and assessment, and explore the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned. We invite you to join us and discover how geospatial applications can play a vital role in crop type mapping and assessment, and explore the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned.

Register HERE!

Agenda

10:00 - 10:05 

Opening - Introduction of the event "Mapping crops to support SoLaWISe initiative: adaptive and innovative tools and approaches"
Matieu Henry, Technical officer, Geospatial Unit, FAO  

10:05 - 10:25 

Introduction to remote sensing data and tools applied to crop type mapping  
Gautam Dadhich, Geospatial expert, FAO; 
Dario Spiller, Land use and land cover specialist, FAO 

10:25 - 10:35 

Field data collection, accuracy assessment and validation 
Filippo Sarvia, Land and crop monitoring specialist, FAO 

10:35 - 10:45 

SAR remote sensing for crop mapping and monitoring in India 
Vineet Kumar, Assistant Professor - Centre for Geoinformatics, JTSDS, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India 

10:45 - 10:55 

Data-driven solutions for crop type phenology and dynamic land use mapping from remote sensing 
Andries Potgieter, Associate Professor - Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI); University of Queensland 

10:55 - 11:05 

Artificial intelligence to advance Earth observation with practical applications 
Fabio del Frate, Full professor, Tor Vergata University of Rome 

11:05 - 11:15 

Remote sensing based crop monitoring during flood event in Mozambique 
José Bofana, Research Assistant - Faculdade de Ciências Agronómicas, Universidade Católica de Moçambique 

11:15 – 11:25 
Questions and discussion 

11:25 – 11:30 

Closing remarks 
Sven Gilliams, Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring