Challenge with Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya (ICGC)

Challenge 2: Evaluation and control of the impact of disasters on agricultural production through earth observation technology

Goal of the challenge

The aim of this call is to find technological solutions that improve the evaluation and control of the impact of climate disasters on agricultural production through the analysis of Earth observation data.

Challenge's description

Secretaria d’Agenda Rural carries out evaluations of the impact of climate disasters on Catalan agricultural production with several objectives, such as granting financial aid allocated to compensate losses in cases of catastrophic damage. There is currently room for improvement when determining impact’s extent in order to better adjust the information provided from Earth observation data with the measurement from the land. Therefore, by applying Earth observation technologies, these evaluations should improve the determination of the impact on agricultural exploitation, production losses, future or expected evolutions, and decision support tools.

Due to the climate emergency, and specially since 2012, climate disaster episodes are becoming more heterogeneous and unpredictable. Nonetheless, frosts, fires and hailstorms are identified as the most common climate disasters in Catalonia. Climate events usually entail production alterations, crops and harvests damage, and soil erosion and degradation.

Secretaria d’Agenda Rural has the SIGPAC tool, which allows to cross-check layers of crop information, such as the typology or its extent. The proposed solution must be able to facilitate the interoperability with this resource in future implementations. Consequently, the current solution could be also improved by facilitating a cross-check between the crop type and the agricultural production calendar data.

Finally, the proposed solution must prioritize access and usability both for the technicians of Secretaria d’Agenda Rural and farmers.

Therefore, this call asks for solutions that focus on:

-         Improving the identification of the crops’ surface affected by adverse weather events.

-         Identifying the impact’s extent on crops, harvest and soil.

-         Providing information that allows to evaluate the effects on the present and potential production.

 Considering the wide range of types of climatic events and extreme phenomena affecting agriculture, the call will focus on the particular case of frost.

For further information of this call, visit the following video: https://youtu.be/ZoqlSgOjg5k