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25 November 2009
Sensing Our Planet: NASA Earth Science Research Features 2009 now available
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by Jane Beitler
November 11, 2009
From his Santa Barbara office, geographer Chris Funk is trying to watch ears of maize in Zimbabwe fill with kernels. Funk knows that years of drought and turmoil in Zimbabwe make it urgent to know exactly how well crops are growing there. As of February 2009, an estimated seven million people in Zimbabwe faced serious food shortages, many surviving on just one meal per day. Zimbabwe’s once-thriving agricultural production had fallen by more than half, and both political upheaval and drought contributed to the prospects of widespread hunger. The unraveling of the agricultural system also made it difficult to get good estimates of crop production. Funk said, “Governmental numbers don’t really exist. As a result, there were different ideas about the level of crop production in Zimbabwe.”
But organizations poised to send famine-mitigating aid need clear and early answers to questions about food security. Funk and his colleague, geographer Michael Budde, are helping provide that clarity, with a breakthrough in the accuracy of satellite data in estimating crop production. Funk said, “When you are trying to get people to spend money or act, you need clear information. Remote sensing is a visually compelling way of showing how crops are performing.”
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