Forecasting weather to improve agricultural decisions for increased yields

Earth Observation for Flood and Drought Resilience focuses on alleviating poverty for farmers that currently have little or no access to insurance by demonstrating the efficacy of Earth observation (EO) data for supporting the micro-insurance market. The solution uses multiple low to medium resolution optical satellite EO data sources including Airbus commercial DMC data, combined with free Landsat, MODIS and Sentinel data. Earth Observation for Flood and Drought Resilience is an independent, verifiable information source, thus free from corruption or bribery, which are significant factors restricting the development of this sector among both insurers and customers. These improved insurance products, once demonstrated, shall increase the overall take-up of insurance, allowing micro- insurance companies to spread risks and reduce costs. The solution also focuses on building social and economic resilience to drought and flood by providing economic impact decision-support information to policy makers at a national level about where best to make infrastructure investments or land use changes.