Dr Harison Kipkulei from the Chair of Human Made Ecosystems, Centre for Climate Resilience, the University of Augsburg, attended the 2024 Earth Observation (EO for Africa Symposium) taking place in Frascati, Italy, from 22nd to 26th September 2024. The symposium provides an opportunity for users in a wide range of disciplines to share experiences and advance research collaboration between Africa and European Institutions in the field of Earth Observation.

Dr Kipkulei presented a talk on the integration of earth observation data and agricultural systems modelling for mapping agricultural yield loss potential in Busia County, Kenya. Furthermore, seasonal weather forecasts were incorporated to provide a quantitative assessment of crop conditions and production loss potential. The talk highlighted the importance of high-resolution satellite data, such as the Sentinel data products from the European Union Copernicus mission, to map crop types and conduct seasonal analysis of crop conditions. The integration of state-of-the-art technologies together with climate forecast products from the local meteorological agencies and the IGAD Climate and Prediction Applications Centre provides a unique opportunity to track agricultural landscape conditions and identify areas at risk of losses due to climate-related stressors.

The symposium also provided an opportunity to share the ongoing and planned working group initiatives on climate change adaptation and enhancing resilience to climate change impacts, thus establishing overlapping areas of interest for future collaboration.