Space for Food Security, does it work?

From the 3rd to 6th of October the Netherlands Space Office, in collaboration with Rabo Foundation, will organize the 'Space for Food Security' conference. Interested in the conference, but not yet convinced? New to this sector? Then listen to this podcast in which Joanna Ruiter (NSO) and Albert Boogaard (Rabobank) will introduce you to the world of geodata for agricultural and financial advisory services; bring you up to date with the most recent developments; and wholeheartedly invite you to join us from 3-6 October in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

The use of geodata technology in the development of financial services for smallholder farmers and the poor is on the rise! If we succeed in providing farmers with better information that allows them to better manage their crops and farms, and provide them with access to finance to turn that information into action, then we may have real impact in improving farmers performance, their welfare and food security in general. 

In this episode of the 'Space for Food Security' podcast we talk about the potentials, the challenges and concerns of these developments with Joanna Ruiter (NSO), Aarno Keijzer (NpM Platform for inclusive finance), Akua Benewaa Okah (Solidaridad) and Albert Boogaard (Rabo Partnerships).

The use of digital data as an information source for farming practices has made giant leaps forwards, driven by both innovative remote sensing technologies and the exponential growth of the use of eg. mobile phones and local access to information. With climate change in action, can access to information services help farmers to adapt, and adjust their practices to the demands of this changing world and a changing climate? In a three part podcast series produced by the Netherlands Space Office (NSO) we ask ourselves: does it actually work? In this second episode we focus on the power of coalition. How to find the right partnerships? And how do you maximise collaboration power and achieve common outcomes? We asked seasoned professionals from the field what they think.

The use of digital data as an information source for farming practices has made giant leaps forwards, driven by both innovative remote sensing technologies and the exponential growth of the use of eg. mobile phones and local access to information. Digital information services are relatively easy to specify to end user needs; easy to disseminate; easy to scale. In theory farmers, with the right assistance and products, can leap the information divide. Impacts on water/chemicals/pesticide use, yield improvement, increased come,  all seem possible.

With climate change in action, and more at the horizon, can access to information services help farmers to adapt, and adjust their practices to the demands of this changing world and a changing climate?

In the first episode of a three part podcast series produced by the Netherlands Space Office (NSO) we ask ourselves: does it actually work? The NSO, Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) Facility is a grant programme of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs that promotes and supports satellite based services which positively impact the lives of smallholder farmers in Africa and SE-Asia.

The title of this first episode is “True Clients” and will focus on the transition from recipients to seeing end-users and small farmers as clients, with demands, ambitions, and requirements.