Indigo Agriculture, a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet, today announces its participation in the Development Data Partnership, an initiative led by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Inter-American Development Bank. By offering real-time agricultural data generated through Indigo Atlas, Indigo’s living map of the world’s food supply, the collaboration will better inform decision-making in areas particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and help more efficiently direct resources in times of global food shortage. The first agricultural technology company to take part in this alliance, Indigo joins a partnership of leading international organizations and companies — such as Google and Facebook — committed to leveraging data to further public research and international development.
“As climate change reshapes how, where, and when our food is available — an issue made all the more critical by the recent spread of COVID-19 – we are pleased to be able to assist the public sector’s efforts to solve our most pressing global challenges,” says David Potere, Indigo’s Head of Geoinnovation. “Indigo’s satellite capabilities can be particularly helpful in advancing our understanding of the food system. We are proud to work with the World Bank to translate this capability into more timely, relevant, and precise decision-making to further ensure a durable global food supply.”
Indigo Atlas, which combines remote sensing, ground equipment, historical, and weather data, is capable of identifying subtle differences in crop performance across regions. Using this proprietary technology, the World Bank can monitor crop productivity in many global growing regions, effectively assessing the health and progress of nearly half of the world’s calories in real-time. This information, which will help ascertain the food supply impacts of natural disasters, will primarily inform program prioritization, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. No individual grower data will be shared through the partnership and full access to Indigo’s crop forecast technologies will remain for Indigo customers only.
Work is already underway on two projects through the Partnership. The first of these initiatives focuses on the MENA region, where scarce agricultural land and water resources, together with a growing population, have exacerbated issues of food independence and security. In support of national and regional policies to address these challenges, Indigo will assess changes in cropland, crops, irrigation, and degradation of land over the past two decades to identify opportunities for more efficient and sustainable future land management.
Additionally, Indigo is deploying its satellite capabilities to estimate corn yield shortfalls in provinces across Zambia, a country which has faced two consecutive years of drought. By equipping the south African nation’s agriculture and water specialists with an objective and comprehensive overview of the farms and irrigation systems throughout the country, the project aims to improve access to irrigation services in times of critical need. Insights gained from the analysis will be used to proactively optimize public sector services and infrastructure in a country on the front lines of climate change.
