Gis and Spatial Analysis for Agriculture and Food Security Seminar

Increasing food demands due to high rates of population growth and major changes in political and economic and social systems have created an urgent need to develop new and revise many existing agricultural systems and practices. With climate change being a common global phenomenon, humanity continues to grapple with its effects, among them being food insecurity, drought, and famine. Agriculture is essentially a spatial phenomenon which is not independent of location.

The three determinants of food security are availability, access, stability, and utilization. Food availability is associated with geographical and agricultural determinants of each area, such as domestic production, import capacity, food stocks, water availability, agriculture land, population density and distribution.

GIS is an exploration tool for the use of spatial reasoning methods, to identify regions at risk, due to inadequate food and water resources, which are a result of inherent environmental scarcity. GI provides a set of tools for evaluating and understanding food security. Several strategies have been developed using GIS and remote sensing techniques, which contribute knowledge and understanding to food security.

This training will seek to understand GIS techniques, which examine local food environments, assess changes in land use and landcover, and identify areas of importance in specific regions to determine the relationships between biophysical and socioeconomic attributes.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course the participants will be able to:

• Basic concepts of GIS
• A refresher on sustainable agriculture and food security
• Spatial data sources for agriculture and food security
• Analysis of spatial agriculture and food security data
• Creation of food security risk maps

Duration:            5 Days

Who Should Attend

The course targets government representatives, project teams, NGOs, multi and bilateral development organizations, consultancies, etc., who work as Agricultural specialists, project managers, researchers, and technical specialists. 

Course Content

Module 1: Basics of GIS

• Concepts and terminologies of GIS
• Spatial information introduction
• Agriculture and food security concept’s introduction
• Introducing GIS in agriculture and food security
• GIS system installation planning
• GIS software

Module 2: Basics of Agriculture and Food Security

• Food Security
• Food System
• Food Chain

Module 3: Agriculture Spatial Data Collection

• Data sources for disease information mapping
• Mobile data collection using ODK.
• Data collection using handheld GPS devices.
• Integrating GPS and ODK data into a GIS environment

Module 4: Spatial Analysis of Agriculture Related Data

• Creating yield maps
• Analysis of precision agriculture data

Module 5: Creation of Food Security Risk Maps

GIS Application in Agriculture

• GIS in yield monitoring and mapping
• Using GIS to report food security information.
• Food security early warning systems and drought monitoring
• Characterizing soil spatial variability
• Site‐specific soil management: prescription maps
• Use of GIS and remote sensing in food security analysis

General Notes

• This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who have vast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice. The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group work and case studies.
• Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
• Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a certificate.