About the workshop Capitalizing on recent advancements in artificial intelligence, Earth Observation big data, and cloud-computing platforms, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) are working together to develop innovative data-science solutions that can support agricultural planning and food security assessments under ICIMOD’s SERVIR-HKH Initiative, a joint partnership between USAID and NASA. This collaboration also contributes to the scientific knowledge base on sustainable agricultural practices and policy formulation to ensure long-term food security in Pakistan. Objectives The overall objective of the consultation workshop is to engage key stakeholders and share the latest tools and innovations in EO, and identify the needs, opportunities, and complementarities to promote the use of EO tools and technologies in agricultural planning and policy formulation. The specific objectives include the following: Share knowledge on recent innovations in EO tools and technologies and their effectiveness in the agricultural planning and policy formulation Explore potential opportunities in the use of EO for key institutional functions in Pakistan’s agriculture sector Review the current data inventory to update agro-ecological zones of Pakistan and identify the potential data contributions from relevant agencies Deliberate on field data collection approaches for resource pooling and data-sharing mechanisms Expected participants Participants from national/provincial agencies and non-governmental organizations working in the areas of agriculture, climate change, food security, water, and irrigation are expected to attend the workshop. Background Pakistan’s agriculture sector plays a central role in the country’s economy as it contributes to about 19% of the gross domestic product and absorbs 42% of the labour force. Pakistan is presently self-sufficient in the production of major staple crops and is ranked 8th in wheat production, 10th in rice production, 5th in sugarcane production, and 4th in milk production. Despite these strong production figures, only 63.1% of the country’s households are food secure. In recent years, rapid economic development and urbanization have added more complexities to the food security challenge as these activities compete with the agriculture sector for finite land resources. As Pakistan’s agriculture depends on snow and glacial melt water resources for irrigation, the impacts of climate change are manifold. The projected changes in the future availability of meltwater and groundwater depletion may severely limit the agriculture sector’s ability to meet the needs of an ever-increasing population. A clear understanding of cropping patterns and historic changes along with the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of agricultural land use change in the region is essential to prepare well-informed policies. Monitoring and estimating crop acreage and yield at a national scale is required to determine the national or regional food demand and supply balance, and to gauge food security. Whether during times of global food shortages or during periods of surplus, monitoring and estimating crop acreage requires long-term efforts. Along with food shortages resulting from an increased frequency and magnitude of extreme events, unsustainable agriculture practices like over-extraction of water, crop intensification, exhaustive use of chemical fertilizers, and virtual water trade damage ecosystem services and impair the long-term capacity to sustain high agricultural outputs. With the recent advancements in EO technologies including freely available high-resolution satellite data, availability of machine-learning algorithms, and easy access to cloud-computing platforms like the Google Earth Engine, establishing systematic crop monitoring systems has now become feasible at lower costs and with greater efficiency. Such systems can greatly help perform in-season crop management and aid production-related decisions. In addition, long-term historic satellite data and land use modelling can be effectively utilized to quantify changes in croplands, review their current environmental suitability, and assess future implications to inform long-term decisions on agricultural land use policy and sustainability. Tentative agenda DAY 1 – 11 August 2021, Opening session Time Activity Speaker/facilitator 09:30–10:00 Arrival of guests and registration 10:00–10:05 Recitation of the Quran Qari Sahib 10:05–10:10 Workshop objectives and expectations Bashir Ahmad, Director, Climate, Energy & Water Research Institute (CWERI), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Pakistan 10:10–10:20 Welcome Muhammad Azeem Khan Chairman, PARC, Pakistan 10:20–10:30 Opening remarks Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD, Nepal 10:30–10:50 Remarks by the Chief Guest H.E. Dr Sania Nishtar, Federal Minister, Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Ministry, Pakistan 10:50–10:55 Vote of thanks Muhammad Ismail, Country Representative, Pakistan office, ICIMOD 10:55–11:30 Group photo and refreshments DAY 1 – 11 August 2021, Technical session Time Programme Speaker/facilitator 11:30–11:45 Key priorities and challenges in agricultural planning and food security in Pakistan Bashir Ahmad, CEWRI, PARC 11:45–13:00 Application of artificial intelligence for agricultural planning: Lessons from the US Department of Agriculture Liping Di, Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems (CSISS), George Mason University, USA Application of Earth observation for crop monitoring and climate risk preparedness: Learning from NASA SERVIR-HKH Initiative Faisal M. Qamer, ICIMOD Big data and cloud computing application for mapping crop intensification in Pakistan Sawaid Abbas, PolyU Remote Sensing Laboratory, Hong Kong, China 13:00–14:00 Lunch 14:00–15:00 Climate projections and their impacts on cropping practices in Pakistan Ghulam Rasul, ICIMOD New agro-ecological zonation to support sustainable agriculture practices in Pakistan Arshad Ashraf, CEWRI, PARC, Pakistan 15:00–15:30 Tea break 15:30–17:00 i) Group work on current crop monitoring mechanisms and emerging needs in Pakistan ii) Group work on stakeholders’ experts input on the validation of new Agro-Ecological Zones developed by PARC Key agriculture sector stakeholders in Pakistan DAY 2 – 12 August 2021, Technical session Time Programme Speaker/facilitator 09:30–09:45 Day 1 – Recap Bashir Ahmad, CEWRI, PARC, Pakistan Group work-1 presentation Key agriculture sector stakeholders in Pakistan 09:45–10:30 Use of ICT and mobile apps for field data collection and sharing Sreten Cvetojevic, CSISS, George Mason University, USA 10:30–10:45 Tea break 10:45–11:00 Agriculture dashboard outlook Bashir Ahmad, CEWRI, PARC, Pakistan 11:00–11:20 Regional Drought Monitoring and Outlook System for South Asia and its climate data products Mir Matin, ICIMOD 11:20–11:45 Basis and criteria of crop zones development in Pakistan Arshad Ashraf, CEWRI, PARC, Pakistan 11:45–12:45 Group work on existing data inventories on crop types, water availability, soil, etc. and collaborative mechanisms for data sharing and new data collection missions Key agriculture sector stakeholders in Pakistan 12:45–13:45 Lunch 13:45–14:45 Concluding session Welcome Muhammad Azeem Khan, Chairman PARC Synthesis of the consultation workshop Birendra Bajracharya, Chief of Party – SERVIR-HKH, ICIMOD Way forward Sarfraz Ahmad, Member Natural Resources, PARC Remarks by the Chief Guest Jamshed lqbal Cheema, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Food Security, Pakistan Vote of thanks Syed Shamim-ul-Sibtain Shah, Director General, NARC 14:45–15:15 Tea break DAY 2 – 12 August 2021, Closing session Time Activity Speaker/facilitator 13:45–13:55 Welcome Muhammad Azeem Khan, Chairman PARC 13:55–14:10 Synthesis of the consultation workshop Birendra Bajracharya, ICIMOD 14:10–14:20 Way forward Sarfraz Ahmad, Member Natural Resources, PARC 14:20–14:40 Remarks by the Chief Guest Honourable Jamshed lqbal Cheema, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Food Security 14:40–14:50 Vote of thanks Syed Shamim-ul-Sibtain Shah, Director General, NARC 14:50–15:20 Tea and snacks