Gis And Spatial Analysis For Agriculture And Food Security Seminar

INTRODUCTION                            

Increasing food demands due to high rates ofpopulation growth and major changes in political and economic and social systems have created an urgent need to develop new and revise many existingagricultural systems and practices. With climate change being a common globalphenomenon, humanity continues to grapple with its effects among them beingfood insecurity, drought, and famine. Agriculture is essentially a spatialphenomenon which is not independent of location.

The three determinants of food security areavailability, access, stability, and utilization. Food availability isassociated with geographical and agricultural determinants of each area, suchas domestic production, import capacity, food stocks, water availability,agriculture land, population density and distribution

GIS is an exploration tool into the use of spatialreasoning methods, to identify regions at risk, due to inadequate food andwater resources, which are a result of inherent environmental scarcity. GISprovides a set of tools for evaluating and understanding food security. Severalstrategies have been developed using GIS and remote sensing techniques, whichcontribute knowledge and understanding to food security.

This training will seek to understand GIS techniques,which examine local food environments, assess changes in land use and landcover, and identify areas of importance in specific regions to determine therelationships between biophysical and socioeconomic attributes.

COURSEOBJECTIVES

By the end of this course theparticipants will be able to:

• Basic concepts of GIS
• A refresher on sustainable agriculture and food security
• Spatial data sources for agriculture and food security
• Analysis of spatial agriculture and food security data
• Creation of food security risk maps

DURATION

5 Days

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The course targets government representatives, projectteams, NGOs, multi and bilateral development organizations, consultancies, etc,who work as Agricultural specialists, project managers, researchers andtechnical specialists. 

COURSE CONTENT

Module 1:Basics of GIS

• Concepts and terminologies of GIS
• Spatial information introduction
• Agriculture and food security concepts introduction
• Introducing GIS in agriculture and food security
• GIS system installation planning
• GIS software

Module 2:Basics of Agriculture and Food Security

• Food Security
• Food System
• Food Chain

Module 3:Agriculture Spatial Data Collection

• Data sources for disease information mapping
• Mobile data collection using ODK.
• Data collection using handheld GPS devices
• Integrating GPS and ODK data into a GIS environment

Module 4:Spatial Analysis of Agriculture Related Data

• Creating yield maps
• Analysis of precision agriculture data

Module 5:Creation of Food Security Risk Maps

GISapplication in Agriculture

• GIS in yield monitoring and mapping
• Using GIS to report food security information
• Food security early warning systems and drought monitoring
• Characterizing soil spatial variability
• Site‐specific soil management:prescription maps
• Use of GIS and remote sensing in food security analysis

GENERAL NOTES

• This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who havevast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice.The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group worksand case studies.
• Training manuals and additional reference materials areprovided to the participants.
• Upon successful completion of this course, participants willbe issued with a certificate.
• We can also do this as tailor-made course to meetorganization-wide needs. Contact us to find out more: training@skillsforafrica.org
•  The training will be conducted at SKILLS FOR AFRICA TRAINING INSTITUTE IN NAIROBIKENYA.
• The training fee covers tuition fees, training materials,lunch and training venue. Accommodation and airport transfer are arranged forour participants upon request.
• Payment should be sent to our bank account before start oftraining and proof of payment sent to:training@skillsforafrica.org