Agriculture: Work Plan Activities

Agriculture: Supporting sustainable agriculture and combating desertification

"Issues addressed by GEOSS will include: crop production; livestock, aquaculture and fishery statistics; food security and drought projections; nutrient balances; farming systems; land use and land-cover change; and changes in the extent and severity of land degradation and desertification. GEOSS implementation will address the continuity of critical data, such as high-resolution observation data from satellites. A truly global mapping and information service, integrating spatially explicit socio-economic data with agricultural, forest, and aquaculture data will be feasible, with applications in poverty and food monitoring, international planning, and sustainable development."
– GEOSS 10-Year Implementation Plan, Section 4.1.8

AG-06-01: GEOSS Agriculture Strategic Plan
This Task is led by FAO.
Initiate the creation of a 5 to 10-year strategic plan: define specific objectives for 2007 and create a plan of action for GEO in agriculture, taking account of the GEOSS 10 Year Implementation Plan Reference document targets.

AG-06-02: Data Utilization in Aquaculture
This Task is led by Spain and the USA.
Consult with scientists and experts from the fisheries, aquaculture, coastal zone management and Earth observation communities at international and regional levels to identify opportunities for enhanced utilization of Earth observations in fisheries and aquaculture.

AG-06-04: Forest Mapping and Change Monitoring
This Task is led by the USA, FAO and GTOS
Integrate international efforts on assessment and monitoring of forests and forest changes using a combination of ground and satellite information and internationally agreed standards. A Global Forest Monitoring Symposium co-hosted by the Task Lead and participating organizations will be held in early 2008.

AG-06-07: Training Modules for Agriculture
Initiate the design of training modules to demonstrate the usage of Earth observation data and products for the agricultural sectors in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and in Small Island States.

AG-07-01: Improving Measurements of Biomass
In order to enable a sustained use of Earth observation data in the area of agriculture and fisheries, it is necessary to further explore the utility of current Earth observations within the agricultural, fishery stock and aquaculture sectors, especially in developing countries with an emphasis on improving classification and quantification of biomass.

AG-07-02: Agricultural Risk Management
This Task is led by WMO.
Develop and improve analytical tools and methods for agriculture risk assessment, particularly for crop failure, and establish common standards and formats. This should include the establishment of operational monitoring systems and extreme events such as crop water stress. In this context, the implementation of pilot-projects linking Earth system model forecasts to end-user application models (such as crop-yield models) will be facilitated in order to improve food-supply prediction from agriculture and aquaculture. The techniques developed in the proposed pilot projects shall be well-documented for broad use. The pilot projects should include appropriate documentation, risk assessment analyses, and quantitative comparisons to standard, benchmark practices.

AG-07-03: Operational Agricultural Monitoring System
This Task is led by the USA.
The purpose of this Task is to support the development of an Operational Agricultural Monitoring System, enhancing the current capabilities in the areas of agricultural monitoring, famine early warning and food security.