FOOD SECURITY
Nearly half of the world’s population lives in poverty. The lack of food and clean water kills thousands every day. Food insecurity is having a devastating effect on the world’s most vulnerable people. There is an urgent need to help people meet their current food and nutrition needs whilst ensuring there is enough for the future.
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Geospatial analysis plays a pivotal role in addressing food insecurity and advancing SDG2 by providing critical insights and solutions to address global food security challenges.
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GIS and Geospatial analysis help improve food security and livelihoods
By combining geographic data with information on agricultural practices, soil quality, climate patterns, and land use, geospatial analysis enables more efficient and targeted resource allocation.
It can help answer key questions, for example:
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How do you ensure that "no one is left behind" in terms of access to food when you cannot physically visit all locations affected by food insecurity?
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How do you effectively reach and assist the most vulnerable populations facing food shortages when you may not know their exact locations or have a comprehensive understanding of their specific food needs?
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How can you optimise the impact of investments and efforts to improve food security when you lack a deep understanding of the local context, such as agricultural practices, market dynamics, and distribution channels?
We address these food security challenges by utilising our access to high-quality data, harnessing cutting-edge technologies, and employing innovative techniques. This approach enables us to provide world-class solutions that enhance our understanding of food security issues, support better decision-making, and ultimately lead to improved outcomes for both our clients and the communities they aim to help.
Satellites and Seeds
A StoryMap that demonstrates how GIS and geospatial analysis address food security challenges.
We are delighted that our StoryMap is a finalist in the Esri ArcGIS StoryMap competition.
Click on the images to take you to the competition and the StoryMap (it is much better than watching it embedded on this website!). Or click here.
Satellites and Seeds
A webinar to demonstrate how GIS and geospatial analysis address food security challenges.
We were also delighted to join Esri and Seeds for Development on this food security focused webinar on November 16th 2023. We demonstrated how GIS and Geospatial analysis can improve food security and livelihoods.
School Feeding
According to The World Food Programme, school feeding programmes are the most extensive social safety net in the world, directly benefiting 388 million children globally. For schools to provide food they have to know how many children are going to need feeding.
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To ensure that no one is left behind, GIS and geospatial analysis can map every home and its distance to local schools, like here in Lamogi sub-county in northern Uganda.
Understanding crop behaviour
This map shows how some crops across Afghanistan are behaving differently than expected, over a period of two weeks. The darker areas show greater deviations from normal and act as an early warning system to people monitoring crop health. We do this by analysing the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of crops and comparing it to the Long Term Mean (LTM). The LTM shows us the way crops “normally” behave. The greater the deviation, the greater the warning.