How can advances in AI and remote sensing improve agricultural decision-making, particularly in contexts where timely, accurate data is difficult to obtain? This webinar explores the intersection of machine learning and satellite imagery, focusing on innovations that enhance monitoring, planning, and climate resilience in food systems. 

Ambica Paliwal will share insights on how remote sensing and AI are being used to address two pressing challenges in South Asian and African dryland systems: crop yield estimation and the mapping of invasive species respectively. Drawing from field-based applications and research experience, the session will demonstrate how satellite data and machine learning models can improve the accuracy of yield forecasting and support the identification of invasive species to support decision-making in rangeland management, which threaten native vegetation and pastoral livelihoods. 

Sibiry Traore will present lessons from his work on AI-powered approaches to land use classification and agricultural monitoring. His research focuses on integrating high-resolution remote sensing data with machine learning to improve predictions, inform interventions, and close data gaps in African farming systems. 

Zhe Guo is a Senior GIS Coordinator at IFPRI, specializing in AI-driven remote sensing, spatial modeling, and cloud-based agricultural analytics. He works extensively with satellite data, Google Earth Engine, and machine learning to deliver timely crop mapping, monitor environmental change, and support policy-focused decision-making across Africa. He also leads the development and application of key geospatial products—including the SPAM model and high-resolution food security mapping—to close data gaps and enhance climate-resilient agricultural insights.

Together, the speakers will examine the practical opportunities and design challenges that arise when deploying AI for remote sensing in real-world agricultural systems—highlighting both the technical breakthroughs and the implementation hurdles that shape this evolving field. 

Speakers

• Ambica Paliwal, Senior Scientist – Remote Sensing, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
• Pierre C. Sibiry Traoré, Senior Scientist, Digital Agriculture, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
• Zhe Guo, Senior GIS Coordinator, IFPRI

Discussant

• Andrew Howe, Ai2, Program Manager 

Moderator

• Eliot Jones-Garcia, Senior Research Analyst, IFPRI; PhD Candidate, Wageningen University