Can remote sensing identify successful agricultural water management interventions in smallholder farms?

Food security in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries hinges on smallholder farms, most of which are currently characterized by low productivity. Increasing the productivity of smallholder systems in SSA is therefore critical to meet the region’s rapidly growing food demand. Africa’s yield gap – the difference between an agricultural system’s potential yield and actual farm yield – is much greater than in other continents.

Inadequate water availability remains one of the key limiting factors in increasing the productivity of SSA’s smallholder systems. Without implementing accelerated water management interventions targeting smallholder farmers at scale, SSA will struggle to meet rising food demand and will remain food insecure.

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Photo credit: IWMI/ESA