AfriCultuReS · Project

Satellite-Powered Crop Monitoring and Food Security Early Warning System for Africa

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Imagine having a weather app, but instead of just telling you if it will rain, it watches entire farming regions from space and predicts whether crops will fail months before harvest. This project built exactly that — a platform that combines satellite images, weather data, on-the-ground reports, and crop growth models to give governments and agribusinesses an early heads-up when food production is at risk across Africa. Think of it like a GPS navigator for food security: it pulls in data from many sources and tells decision-makers where the trouble spots are and what to do about them.

By the numbers

consortium partners involved

countries represented in the consortium

industry partners in the consortium

SMEs participating

total project deliverables

The business problem

What needed solving

Farmers, governments, and agribusinesses across Africa lack reliable, timely information about crop conditions and food production risks. Traditional ground-based monitoring cannot cover the vast and diverse agricultural regions of the continent, leaving decision-makers blind to emerging food crises until it is too late to act. Insurance companies, aid organizations, and agricultural traders all need better predictive data to allocate resources effectively.

The solution

What was built

The project built an integrated agricultural monitoring and early warning web platform — the AfriCultuReS Services Platform — that combines satellite imagery from EU Sentinels, ground sensors, crowdsourced data, climate models, and crop yield prediction models into a single spatial decision support system. The platform was developed to GEO interoperability standards and tested across multiple African agricultural regions.

Audience

Who needs this

Crop and parametric insurance companies underwriting agricultural risk in AfricaEarth observation and remote sensing service providers expanding into agricultureInternational development agencies managing food security programsAgricultural commodity traders needing yield forecasts for African marketsGovernment agricultural ministries in African countries seeking early warning tools

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Agricultural Insurance

enterprise

Target: Crop insurance and parametric insurance providers operating in African markets

If you are a crop insurance company struggling to assess risk across vast African farmlands with limited ground data — this project developed a satellite-based monitoring platform that fuses Earth observation with climate models to predict crop yields and biomass. It covers multiple African agricultural systems across 14 countries and could drastically reduce your underwriting uncertainty. The decision support system was built to GEO interoperability standards, meaning it can plug into your existing geospatial infrastructure.

Agri-Tech & Precision Farming

any

Target: Remote sensing service providers and agricultural analytics companies

If you are an agri-tech company looking to expand your crop monitoring services into African markets — this project integrated data from EU Sentinel satellites, in-situ sensors, citizen crowdsourcing, and climate services into a single web-based platform. The system was tested across diverse agricultural zones with 18 partners providing local expertise. You could license or build on top of this platform instead of developing your own from scratch.

International Development & Food Aid

enterprise

Target: NGOs, development agencies, and food security organizations

If you are a development organization responsible for food aid distribution and you need better early warning about crop failures — this project built a spatial decision support system that combines crop yield predictions with economic and biophysical data. The platform was designed for early decision-making and tested with partners in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Rwanda. It delivers actionable alerts rather than raw satellite data.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access or license the AfriCultuReS platform?

The project was funded as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), meaning the platform was developed with public EU funding. Licensing or access terms would need to be negotiated with the coordinator GMV Aerospace and Defence SA in Spain. Based on available project data, no commercial pricing model has been published.

Can this system work at industrial scale across large agricultural regions?

The platform was designed to cover diverse African agricultural systems across 14 countries, processing satellite data from the EU Sentinels constellation combined with ground-level data. The architecture follows GEO interoperability standards, which supports scaling through integration with existing global Earth observation infrastructure. A consortium of 18 partners validated the system across multiple regions.

Who owns the intellectual property and can I license the technology?

As an EU-funded RIA project, IP typically stays with the consortium partners who created it. GMV Aerospace and Defence SA coordinated the project with 5 industry partners and 8 universities. Licensing discussions should start with GMV, though specific IP arrangements would depend on which platform components you need.

How does this integrate with existing agricultural monitoring systems?

The decision support system was built to be compliant with GEO interoperability standards, specifically designed for integration with the GEOSS Common Infrastructure. This means the geospatial products can connect with other monitoring services like GEOGLAM, ARTEMIS, and the African Drought Observatory without requiring custom integration work.

What data sources does the platform use and do I need my own sensors?

The platform fuses data from multiple sources: EU Sentinel satellite imagery, in-situ ground measurements, citizen-based crowdsourcing, climate services, weather data, and crop models. You do not need your own sensors — the system is designed to work with publicly available Earth observation data supplemented by ground-truth information from local partners.

Is the platform still maintained after the project ended in 2022?

The project closed in October 2022. Based on available project data, ongoing maintenance and updates would depend on the coordinator GMV Aerospace and Defence SA and the consortium partners. You should contact GMV directly to confirm current platform status and availability.

Consortium

Who built it

The AfriCultuReS consortium of 18 partners across 14 countries is unusually broad geographically, spanning Europe (Spain, Italy, Greece, Netherlands, Sweden, UK) and Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Tunisia, South Africa). This dual-continent structure is a strong signal for real-world validation — the technology was not just built in a European lab but tested with local African partners. The coordinator GMV Aerospace and Defence SA is a major Spanish space and defense company, not an SME, which suggests strong project management capability. With 5 industry partners (28% industry ratio), 8 universities providing research depth, and 3 SMEs bringing agility, the consortium balances scientific rigor with commercial potential. The presence of African university and institutional partners means the platform was shaped by actual end-user needs on the ground.

GMV AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE SACoordinator · ES
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELDparticipant · UK
ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKISparticipant · EL
OBSERVATOIRE DU SAHARA ET DU SAHELparticipant · TN
SOUTH AFRICA NATIONAL SPACE AGENCYparticipant · ZA
CENTRE REGIONAL AGRHYMETparticipant · NE
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDSparticipant · UK
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICASthirdparty · ES
SVERIGES METEOROLOGISKA OCH HYDROLOGISKA INSTITUTparticipant · SE
NOORT HARMANNUSparticipant · NL
DRAXIS ENVIRONMENTAL SAparticipant · EL
UNIVERSIDADE EDUARDO MONDLANEparticipant · MZ
UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIAparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITY OF RWANDAparticipant · RW
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZAparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

GMV Aerospace and Defence SA (Spain) — a major European space technology company. Contact their Earth observation or agriculture division.

Order a report on this consortium See GMV AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE SA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the AfriCultuReS team to explore licensing or partnership? SciTransfer can arrange a direct connection with the right people at GMV.

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