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food securit y
food securit y
GEOGLAM - improving
food security through
earth observations
The Group on Earth Observation’s Global Agriculture Monitoring
(GEOGLAM) programme is one of several emerging initiatives of the
Group on Earth Observations (GEO) where international cooperation
and collaboration are delivering coordinated Earth observations
for a number of societal benefits. In 2011 as part of its Action Plan
on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture, the G20 committed to
‘improve market information and transparency in order to make
international markets for agricultural commodities more effective.’
In its Final Declaration from Cannes (November 2011), the G20
invited GEO to ‘lead the development of an initiative to coordinate
satellite monitoring observation systems in different regions of the
world in order to enhance crop production projections and weather
Barbara J. Ryan, Director,
Group on Earth Observations
Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland
forecasting data.’
The effect that significant weather
events in producer/exporter countries
have on crop prices is shown below in
data from the World Bank. The graph
below illustrates wheat prices (in $/
Metric Ton) for the last 50 years (1960-
2011). The first decade (1960-1972) shows
a relatively stable pricing situation.
Whereas, price volatility increased
significantly thereafter, and particularly
so since 2007. Droughts in Australia,
Russia and the Ukraine, and the effect
that they have had on wheat prices are
clearly evident.
Also shown on the graph is the launch
(1972) of the first in a series of Landsat
satellites designed to observe the
Earth’s landscape. The eighth in a series
Monthly Wheat Prices ($/MT) 1960-2011
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