Browse categories
Accelerated Crop Improvement Agribusiness and Innovation Platform Asia Cell Molecular Biology And Genetic Engineering Climate Action Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Crop Breeding Crop Improvement Crop Physiology And Modeling Crop protection and Seed Health Digital Agriculture Eastern and Southern Africa Enabling Systems Transformation Environmental Conservation Ethiopia Food and Nutrition Security Food and Value Chains Gender and Youth Genebank Genetic Research Genomics, Pre-breeding and Bioinformatics Geo Spatial and Big Data Sciences ICRISAT Development Center India Institutional News International Year of Millets 2023 Kenya Knowledge and capacity development Landscapes, Soil Fertility and Water Management Malawi Mali Markets, Institutions & Policies Mozambique Niger Nigeria Nutrition, dietary behaviour and Smart Food Partnerships Pest and Disease Control Poverty Alleviation Resilient Farm and Food Systems Seed Systems Skills Transfer Technology adoption and impact analysis West & Central Africa Zimbabwe
Connecting geospatial tech to villages for better agricultural planning

Connecting geospatial tech to villages for better agricultural planning

USAID, NASA, and partners develop a work plan for the second phase of SERVIR in West Africa (SERVIR WA 2) implemented by ICRISAT

Geospatial experts from West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal), Rwanda, and the United States of America held a meeting from August 29 to September 2 in Saly, Senegal to plan the implementation of the second phase of SERVIR West Africa.

SERVIR West Africa is one of five regional hubs that ‘connects space to villages’ by helping developing countries use satellite data to address critical challenges in agriculture and food security, water resource planning, weather and climate, land use, and disaster prevention and/or management.

SERVIR is a joint initiative of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and leading geospatial organizations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

(L to R) The opening ceremony of the workshop was led by Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Regional Director, ICRISAT-West and Central Africa, Ms Aminata Sidibe Diarra, Biodiversity and Climate Change Advisor USAID - West Africa Regional Economic Growth Office, Dr Daniel E Irwin, Director of SERVIR, NASA.
(L to R) The opening ceremony of the workshop was led by Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Regional Director, ICRISAT-West and Central Africa, Ms Aminata Sidibe Diarra, Biodiversity and Climate Change Advisor USAID - West Africa Regional Economic Growth Office, Dr Daniel E Irwin, Director of SERVIR, NASA.

The first phase of its West Africa program was launched in 2016, and its second phase starting in 2022 will continue over the next five years in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, and Senegal, as well as other West African countries.

Incorporating technological advances and reflecting changing West African priorities and contexts, SERVIR WA 2 aims to promote a regional market and sustainable ecosystem for Earth Observation services; strengthen regional capacity to deploy industrial-grade Earth Observation applications and achieve cross-sectoral economies of scale through public-private partnerships.

Achieving these goals will involve, among other things:

  • increased attention to agricultural and food security and nutrition issues
  • aligning Earth Observation in support of financial services and instruments
  • a pivot towards the applications of satellite imagery in urban areas
  • the implementation of an innovative strategy for the industrialization of Earth Observation-based services; the development of partnerships - especially public-private ones - that are more agile and better able to pool entrepreneurial opportunities in the development of demand-driven services
  • the acceleration of young people in the program, for example through a program of innovation grants in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

(SERVIR WA 2) is implemented by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in partnership with several West African institutions as well as universities and international organizations including the African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology (AFRIGIST, Ile-Ife, Nigeria); the Regional Center for Agrometeorology, Hydrology and Meteorology (AGRHYMET, Niamey, Niger); the Center for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services (CERSGIS, Accra, Ghana); the Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE, Dakar, Senegal); the Higher Institute of Space Studies and Telecommunications (ISESTEL, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso); the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS, Mbour, Senegal and Cape Coast, Ghana); the University of Florida (Gainesville, USA); and Columbia University (New York, USA), through the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and its International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI).

Program team at work.
Program team at work.
Participants of the planning workshop in Saly, Senegal.
Participants of the planning workshop in Saly, Senegal.
This work aligns with SDG 13
This work aligns with SDG 13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geo Spatial and Big Data Sciences Skills Transfer West & Central Africa Partnerships Technology adoption and impact analysis
About The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a pioneering International Organization committed to developing and improving dryland farming and agri-food systems to address the challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation affecting the 2.1 billion people residing in the drylands of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond.

ICRISAT was established under a Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of India and the CGIAR on the 28 March 1972. In accordance with the Headquarters Agreement, the Government of India has extended the status of a specified “International Organisation” to ICRISAT under section 3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947 of the Republic of India through Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. UI/222(66)/71, dated 28 October 1972, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

Our offices:

Asia: India (Headquarters - Hyderabad)

East and Southern Africa:  Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe

West and Central Africa: Mali, Niger, Nigeria

For all media inquiries, please email: [email protected]

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
Hyderabad, Telangana, India