G4AW reaches 1 million users milestone

The Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) programme began in 2015 as an initiative by the Netherlands Space Office. Now, the program has reached 1 million users by more than 120 partners across 14 countries. The 1 million milestone contributes to a number of Sustainable Development Goals.

Results over 2015-2018

G4AW is supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and aims to boost climate resilience of agricultural production systems in Africa and Asia using satellite data. The program started in the period 2015-2018 with 23 stand-alone projects contributing to the G4AW objectives. For instance, in Mali and Uganda 122,849 satellite based index insurances were issued. In Bangladesh, 44,418 subscriptions to advisory subscriptions were provided to food producers. In total 395,135 people made better use of agricultural inputs such as water, fertilizer and pesticides. In Burkina Faso the livelihoods of over 39,000 people were improved. In 2017, 64,085 food producers were using the G4AW services and the livelihoods of 250,000 households were improved. In 2018 this increased to 567,250 users and improvements of the livelihoods of 523,800 food producers.

Project insights

All of the G4AW projects in results achieved up until 2018 have been released and published on a dedicated Akvo RSR website for open and transparent communication. The results provide an insight in the progress all 23 projects that have received financial support.

Growing in 2019

In 2019 we see an increased uptake of the services. In addition, 2 new projects (Mavo Diami and Sat4Business) started, bringing the total number of projects to 25 across 15 countries. The project Mavo Diami, which means 'my country' in the local Kimbundo language, aims at improving food and income security of 100,000 smallholder farmers in Angola. With the help of various geodata services, farmers can make informed decisions to improve their harvests. Sat4Business will support over 140,000 Ghanaian cocoa and oil palm farmers to increase their production, income, and food security. Farmers will receive information on market prices, weather and agricultural agronomic tips, as well as access to financial services such as pensions, insurances, and loans.

Please check our website for more detailed information. All individual projects and their results can be found on the G4AW website.