Rural Payments Agency Utilizes Earth Observation Data to Advance Sustainable Agriculture
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) plays a crucial role in supporting rural farming communities in England, with an annual payment of over £2 billion. Their objective is to promote a thriving farming and food sector while working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of their mission, RPA provides financial support to farmers, traders, and landowners to facilitate the transition towards a sustainable economy.
Verifying Compliance with Sustainable Farming Practices
In order to provide financial incentives, RPA needed to ensure that farming and landowning applicants complied with their recommendations, which include integrated pest management, wildlife-friendly farming, nutrient management, and crop rotation. However, verifying compliance at a national level proved to be a challenging task.
Utilizing Earth Observation Data for National-Scale Management
RPA turned to Planet data and publicly available satellite data to conduct broad area management at a national scale. By analyzing historical data, RPA could evaluate when and where sustainable farming practices were implemented. However, managing diverse data sets across vast agricultural land posed its own challenges.
Valentin Louis, Senior Earth Observation Specialist at Rural Payments Agency, explained, “The challenges we had managing large data sets were mainly based around the massive amount of satellite data that’s being produced and how to store them. The time and compute intensive process requires a lot of additional hardware management resources from our small team.”
Streamlining Data Analysis with Planet Insights Platform
After experimenting with various tools, RPA adopted the Planet Insights Platform. This platform integrates Planet’s core offerings into a single user-friendly interface, providing access to both Planet-derived data and insights, as well as public satellite data feeds. By transitioning to this platform, RPA reduced the time spent on data processing and distribution.
Valentin further explained, “With Planet Insights Platform, we have all the data in one platform and this allows us to extract the data we need very quickly, whenever we need it. We can go back in time as far as we have the data. Planet Insights Platform made it easy for us to access the data, build models, and scale them up quickly.”
Enhancing Decision-Making and Democratizing Agricultural Data
By integrating their workflows into the Planet Insights Platform, RPA can now assess the impacts of policies and initiatives to make informed decisions for the future. The platform offers advanced analytical tools and easily-understood automated insights, making agricultural data accessible to both geospatial analysts and novices. This democratization of data enables RPA to share insights across the entire agency.
Valentin stated, “We are planning to increase our remote monitoring capacity and capabilities by improving our end-to-end workflows, expanding our use cases to monitor more farming practices and land cover changes. We ideally would want to use the data to support farmers better in delivering the environmental outcomes of the new schemes.”
A Resilient, Data-Informed Future for Agriculture
RPA is committed to creating a resilient, data-informed future for England’s agricultural industry. By consolidating their Earth observation data and insights in one platform, RPA has unlocked the full potential of their agricultural data. They can now move faster with their insights, delve deeper into timely archives, and gain a broader understanding of the nation’s agricultural landscape to ensure a successful transition towards sustainability.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
1. SDGs Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article:
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 15: Life on Land
2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Based on the Article’s Content:
- SDG 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
- SDG 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.
- SDG 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article:
- Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
- Indicator 12.3.1: Global food loss index
- Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of total land area
4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 2: Zero Hunger | Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality. | Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture |
| SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | Target 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. | Indicator 12.3.1: Global food loss index |
| SDG 15: Life on Land | Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements. | Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of total land area |
The article discusses the Rural Payments Agency’s efforts to support sustainable farming practices and ensure a thriving farming and food sector in England. This aligns with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), which aims to ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices. The specific target under SDG 2 that can be identified is Target 2.4, which focuses on sustainable agriculture and land and soil quality improvement. The corresponding indicator is Indicator 2.4.1, which measures the proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture.
The article also mentions the need to reduce food waste and losses along production and supply chains, which relates to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The specific target under SDG 12 is Target 12.3, which aims to halve per capita global food waste. The corresponding indicator is Indicator 12.3.1, which measures the global food loss index.
Furthermore, the article highlights the importance of conserving and restoring terrestrial ecosystems, particularly forests. This aligns with SDG 15 (Life on Land), which aims to ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. The specific target under SDG 15 that can be identified is Target 15.1, which focuses on forest conservation and restoration. The corresponding indicator is Indicator 15.1.1, which measures the forest area as a proportion of total land area.
Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.
Source: planet.com
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