Feed the Future -- the U.S. Government’s Global Food Security initiative -- takes an integrated approach to combating the root causes of hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.

This integrated approach is reflected in Feed the Future’s results framework, which brings together our three main objectives of (1) inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, (2) strengthened resilience among people and systems, and (3) a well-nourished population, especially among women and children.

Various types of evidence are needed to inform the design and implementation of Feed the Future programs and activities, and effective monitoring and evaluation of our work also requires robust qualitative and quantitative evidence. With increasing launches of Earth-observing satellites, data policies allowing broader access to moderate and high-resolution Earth Observation (EO) data, and rapid advances in cloud and high-performance computing, EO data are increasingly seen as essential inputs to support Feed the Future’s work throughout the program cycle, from design to implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive decision making.

The objective of this month’s Agrilinks Monthly Theme on Earth Observations for Food Security and Agriculture is to showcase how USAID and our partners are using EO data and applications in ways that directly correspond to Feed the Future’s strategic approach and results framework, and to do so in an accessible way. We hope that this approach will open doors for a wider engagement with these data by the entire range of decisionmakers, from farmers in their plots, to researchers in universities, to decisionmakers in governments and multilateral institutions.

In particular, we hope this month contributes to creating space for researchers who work with EO data to engage in mutually beneficial dialogs with people whose work in food security and agriculture could benefit from the insights derived from these data.

Have you ever considered using Earth observations data in your work on food security and agriculture? Is there anything stopping you? How could we help?

We’d love to hear from you!

On behalf of the USAID Steering Committee on Earth Observations for Food Security and Agriculture:

• James Verdin, Food for Peace, Chair
• Gary Eilerts, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance
• Jami Montgomery, Center for Resilience
• Kiersten Johnson, Bureau for Food Security