On September 20, 2017, during the CGIAR Big Data Convention 2017 in Cali, Colombia, CGIAR-CSI’s members met with many geospatial researchers and practitioners.
Main theme of the session was “How to spur the use of remote sensing in agricultural research and development at CGIAR and partners”. The session was started with a keynote “STARS Project: Experiments with VHSR Images in Smallholder Farming” by Rolf de By (ITC/University of Twente), presenting innovative ways to use remote sensing technology to improve agricultural practices in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Rolf’s presentation highlighted the importance of generating global public goods through the collaborative research project and share them back with a broader research community. Audiences agreed the findings and outputs from STARS would benefit their own work in many ways. For example, STARS’ workflow on the registration of multiple image files using trees in the field looked very promising in remote rural areas where no buildings or other structure exist.
The keynote was followed by a panel discussion on the issues around the use of remote sensing in CGIAR challenges, and recommended calls for actions. Panelists were Chandra Biradar (ICARDA), Pierre Sibiry Traore (MANIBI Group), Liangzhi You (IFPRI), and Nasreen Khan (IRRI).
CGIAR-CSI 