Despite the COVID 19 pandemic related constraints, the OSS, in collaboration with the National Centre for Mapping & Remote Sensing (CNCT), organized a field mission with the participation of Tunisian institutions in charge of agricultural seasons monitoring, including the Regional Commissioners for Agricultural Development (CRDA) & the National Institute of Field Crops (INGC).
This mission, organized jointly on behalf of the AfriCultuReS & GMES & Africa - North Africa Consortium projects & carried out during the growing season of the strategic & major cereal crops in Tunisia related to the 4 Jendouba, Kairouan, Nabeul & Bizerte (Tunisia) pilot areas.
This mission, organized jointly on behalf of the AfriCultuReS & GMES & Africa - North Africa Consortium projects & carried out during the growing season of the strategic & major cereal crops in Tunisia related to the 4 Jendouba, Kairouan, Nabeul & Bizerte (Tunisia) pilot areas.
Hundreds of crop plots were visited & checked & a wide variety of rainfed & semi-irrigated crops was identified, namely: wheat, barley, sugar beet, potato, olive tree, tomato, onion, chili, alfalfa, chickpea, fenugreek, peach, artichoke, etc.
The collection of in situ data in the crop plots will make it possible to build geospatial databases on crop plots with a view to monitoring crop growth, modelling the 2020-2021 crop yields and enriching the thematic layers of the Land Use Map (LUM) of Tunisia. It should also make it possible to calibrate the national & regional crop models being developed by the AfriCultuReS project & to develop operational services adapted to the national contexts of the relevant countries & which best meet the needs of end users. One of the services is the establishment of efficient platforms to support decision-making in agriculture & food security at national & regional levels.
The OSS team also took the opportunity to collect feedback of farmers on their experiences & good agricultural practices, particularly on water management for semi-irrigated plots.
Broadly speaking, the availability of reliable information & in situ data, requiring regular visits to collect field data according to the relevant crops growth phases, will help establish efficient platforms to support decision-making in agriculture & food security at national & regional levels, based on Earth Observation.
The OSS invested very early in the use of Earth Observation products in support to Agriculture, Food Security & the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, for the benefit of its members.