학술논문

Satellite forecasting of crop harvest can trigger a cross-hemispheric production response and improve global food security
Document Type
article
Source
Communications Earth & Environment, Vol 4, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2023)
Subject
Geology
QE1-996.5
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Language
English
ISSN
2662-4435
Abstract
Abstract Global food security is increasingly threatened by climate change and regional human conflicts. Abnormal fluctuations in crop production in major exporting countries can cause volatility in food prices and household consumption in importing countries. Here we show that timely forecasting of crop harvest from satellite data over major exporting regions can trigger production response in the opposite hemisphere to offset the short-term fluctuations and stabilize global food supply. Satellite forecasting can reduce the fluctuation extents of country-level prices by 1.1 to 12.5 percentage points for anticipated wheat shortage or surplus in Russia and Ukraine, and even reverse the price shock in importing countries for anticipated soybean shortage in Brazil. Our research demonstrates that by leveraging the seasonal lags in crop calendars between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, operational crop monitoring from satellite data can provide a mechanism to improve global food security.