ECONOMÍA. Saocom: satellite data fill the void of dwindling crop tours (El Intransigente)

El Intransigente (Argentina) published an article stating that the pandemic is helping to usher in a new era of food-production forecasts that rely more on satellite data and artificial intelligence and less on information gathered by people. Rather than sending people to visit things, the market is looking for remote sensing. Still, there are shortcomings in some satellite models. In Kenya, for example, it can be difficult to construe from some imagery if lush foliage is a food crop or a weed. Senior Research Fellow Jawoo Koo said “That makes forecasting quite challenging, Typically, IFPRI relies in part on aid workers to gather information about crops. For now, the best information may be a combination of insight from on-the-ground observations along with the new technologies. Koo said, “Even if it’s limited info from farmers on WhatsApp, we will try to come up with a creative way to connect to farmers on the ground.”