This proposal is introduced to address the Target Outcome B stated in the Objective ICT-2009.1, namely the support to the uptake of European ICT research results in developing economies. The objective can be realized by setting up an advanced European E-agriculture service in two developing economies, Morocco and China, by means of crop monitoring. The activities of capacity building will be carried out in the third developing country, Kenya, to raise the interest of local stakeholders on European E-agricultural practices and to pave the way for an eventual technological transfer in the future.
The European research institutions including VITO, Alterra, JRC and University of Milan, have developed series of agricultural monitoring approaches to support European Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). These approaches are based on the European Information and Communication technologies including space-based Earth Observation (EO), geographical information systems and agro-meteorological modelling. The transfer, adaptation and local application of these E-agriculture practices will assist the policy makers of developing countries in their challenge to sustain agriculture s productivity growth. It helps to achieve the food security, increase farmer incomes and protect local farmer interest, in the context of agricultural liberalization, which is a fiercely disputed issue in the forums of the World Trade Organization.
On the other hand, the feedback from this proposed action will enhance the applicability of European crop production forecasting technology on a global scale, thus ultimately strengthen its capacity in global monitoring of food security.