Citation:

Rufin, P.; Meyfroidt, P.; Akinyemi, F. O.; Estes, L.; Ibrahim, E. S.; Jain, M.; Kerner, H.; Lisboa, S. N.; Lobell, D.; Nakalembe, C.; et al.
To enhance sustainable development goal research, open up commercial satellite image archives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2025, 122 (7), e2410246122. DOI: doi:10.1073/pnas.2410246122

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Smallholder farmers produce one third of the world's food supply on one quarter of the world's agricultural land [1]. However, their crop yields are steadily declining. They are increasingly affected by extreme weather events as a result of global warming. These events impact yields through flooding and drought. In Ethiopia, Mali and Tanzania, agricultural productivity is stagnating; in Malawi and Nigeria, it is declining [2]. Observing the Earth with satellites could help farmers monitor the condition of the landscape and agricultural land – consistent measurements that can be translated into environmentally relevant estimates such as carbon, crop yield or land use.

In their statement, the authors call for coordinated efforts to facilitate access to commercial Earth observation image archives. Our knowledge of basic agricultural parameters such as the distribution of cultivated land in regions dominated by smallholder farming is relatively limited. High-resolution Earth observation image data is not freely available for most regions. However, this data is urgently needed to decipher the complexity of smallholder agricultural landscapes. Institutions engaged in sustainability research cannot afford the image data, which can cost over €1 million for a single purchase, let alone at the regular intervals required for monitoring. These high costs therefore represent an obstacle to achieving SDG 2. Improved access to high-resolution satellite data would help provide the rich information on smallholder agriculture that is needed to better understand and mitigate challenges such as productivity declines in the future.

The mapping of smallholder farm boundaries enables precise monitoring of the extent of small fields and facilitates downstream analyses of crop type, productivity and vitality. The data can also be used nationally to assess disaster impacts, risk indicators, food security or rural livelihoods.

The authors see the potential of high-resolution Earth observation data in relation to the achievement of the SDGs and sustainability research in general as a strong incentive for public institutions and commercial providers to join forces and improve access. Free access to data allows sustainability science to operate on an equal footing across institutions and countries. Making image material available for non-commercial purposes can also be a win-win strategy from the perspective of Earth observation data providers, as the improved visibility of data products and the potential for a growing user base can promote the development of new tools and applications for the private sector.

Related Articles:

[1] V. Ricciardi, N. Ramankutty, Z. Mehrabi, L. Jarvis, B. Chookolingo, How much of the world’s food do smallholders produce? Glob. Food Secur. 17, 64–72 (2018).

[2] P. Wollburg, T. Bentze, Y. Lu, C. Udry, D. Gollin, Crop yields fail to rise in smallholder farming systems in sub- Saharan Africa. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121, e2312519121 (2024).

Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture,’ has shown stagnant or negative developments in almost all regions of the world since 2015. Food security in areas with particularly fast-growing populations is especially dependent on smallholder farms. These areas are sometimes particularly affected by extreme weather events and a changing climate. To better support smallholder farmers in their cultivation, fine-scale Earth observation from space could provide crucial insights.