This project is designed to address one of the objectives of the FP7-ICT-2009-6 call, namely the support to the uptake of European ICT research results in developing economies. The objective will 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 of sustaining agriculture growth. On the other hand, the feedback from this 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.
Finally, the implementation will be strengthened by closely collaborating with other European food security projects focusing on African countries (Link to African portal) such as GMFS or AGRICAB.
