A helping hand from above for The Gambia

14 June 2013 - Satellites are being used to promote agriculture in one of the world's poorest countries. Named after the river that traverses the country from east to west, The Gambia is the smallest nation on mainland Africa. The majority of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, but the country's land is constantly subject to soil erosion, degradation and sea-water intrusion from the Atlantic Ocean. Irregular rains are also responsible for frequent crop losses. To monitor and evaluate The Gambia's agricultural development, satellites are mapping crops and land cover. Together with the Swiss Earth observation service provider, Sarmap, ESA is supporting the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) by mapping the whole country using radars on multiple satellites. These include observations from Japan's ALOS satellite, the Cosmo-SkyMed mission and historical data from ESA's Envisat.