The view from above

Images acquired by sensors placed on satellites provide valuable information on crop acreage, health, and yields.

Recent progress in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing makes it possible to obtain agricultural information at low cost and in near-to-real time.

Unmanned aerial vehicles lessen the burden for ground-truth data collection required for satellite image classification.

Continuous public and commercial support for improvements in the satellite infrastructure and in the development of robust models for information extraction will pay dividends for food security and sustainability.