From 3/18-21/24, Phoebe Oduor, SERVIR Science Coordination Office Continental Coordinator for Africa, Applied Sciences Team Principal Investigator Catherine Nakalembe (University of Maryland/NASA Harvest) and Adama Sarr from SERVIR West Africa / Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE) participated in the GEOGLAM Learning Exchange held in Naivasha, Kenya. The GEOGLAM Learning Exchange also included government representatives from Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Djibouti, Somalia, Lesotho, Burundi, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Uganda, as well as international partners GEOGLAM Secretariat, VITO, the European Space Agency, the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the World Meteorological Organization, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction & Applications Centre (Co-Organizers), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET), World Bank, AEGIR and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The main purpose of this meeting was to discuss with countries the main agriculture related challenges they are facing, and the different tools and data collection approaches they are using to address those challenges. The key objectives of this process would be to help the GEOGLAM partners to work with the countries in developing full proposals for funding opportunities, but also to look at those challenges that can be addressed by Early Warning tools and as GEOGLAM. Draft concepts of prioritized needs were developed at this meeting. Nakalembe, Oduor and Sarr also took this opportunity to discuss Nakalembe’s SERVIR Applied Sciences Team (AST) work in Senegal with Hub regional priorities and plan for the next capacity building activity. Following the exchange (3/25-26/24), Oduor visited partners at CIAT and ICPAC in Nairobi to seek opportunities for linkages and support for existing SERVIR services in the region.
