Agenda About the training The SERVIR-HKH project of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), in partnership with Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), is organizing a 5-days Training of Trainers (ToT) on the use of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform for agricultural applications. ICIMOD aims to enhance the professional skills of key partners in Nepal by leveraging cloud computing technology and related applications through this training. This training will enable agricultural professionals in Nepal to grasp the evolving technical platforms and equip them in using GEE for agricultural applications, improving efficiency, and saving time. The Agriculture Geographic Information System (Agri-GIS) Unit and Statistics Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), Nepal, and ICIMOD’s SERVIR Hindu Kush Himalaya (SERVIR-HKH) project are co-developing an operational service for crop area and yield estimation in Nepal using Remote Sensing (RS) and Machine Learning (ML). The focus is also on establishing information services to enhance data and knowledge-sharing among relevant departments and the broader user community. This will aid in designing and delivering specialised training in agricultural planning, crop mapping, crop flood assessment, and drought monitoring for field-level staff and central professionals. In this regard, capacity building (CB) of agricultural professionals is one of the key priorities to use these new technologies, ensuring research paces well with technological advancements. Earth observation (EO) technologies can significantly support large-scale research and development programs, addressing data gaps in agriculture, such as land use changes, agricultural production, and food security resilience. To achieve this goal, ICIMOD, in collaboration with MoALD, has conducted a series of capacity-building activities for agricultural professionals. This included one national-level on-the-job training and two provincial-level standard trainings in Nepal, covering basic GIS and EO concepts and their agricultural applications through blended hands-on sessions. Following these trainings, MoALD has requested an expansion to include advanced platforms like Google Earth Engine for agricultural analysis. Objectives The training aims to provide agriculture professionals from MoALD with a better understanding of geospatial data analysis by using the GEE platform. In addition to the basic introduction and usage of GEE, the training content will cover advanced topics in geospatial applications such as crop mapping, crop phenology exploration, crop change, crop area estimation, and climate-induced crop damage assessment. After receiving this training, the trainers will be able to apply the knowledge in their workflow and deliver similar skills in the organization. Expected outcomes Upon completion of the training, the participants will have a better understanding about the concepts and general applications of satellite remote sensing data and GEE cloud computing and their potential/limitations for particular applications. Participants will be able to apply the skills in their professional workflow and to impart the learned skills to a wider group in the organisation. Expected participants 5–10 participants from the Ministry of Agriculture of Livestock Development (MoALD). Resource persons ICIMOD Rajesh Bahadur Thapa, Senior Remote Sensing & Geoinformation Specialist Sravan Shrestha, Senior Associate – Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Sarthak Shrestha, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Associate Manish Shrestha, Hydrologist Poonam Tripathi, Geospatial Training Analyst Background The UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 (“Zero hunger”) aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. The Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters (e.g. floods, droughts); often leading to low agriculture production and food scarcity, which affects rural livelihoods. Furthermore, climate-driven risks of extreme weather events are expected to continue increasing in the near future, and increasing the risk of food insecurity. In Nepal, the government is committed to addressing food insecurity and ensuring food security for all. However, there is a significant need to build capacity in food security planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Continuous monitoring and estimation of national crop areas, determining food demand and supply, and assessing food security require reliable and timely information. Open-source satellite-based data and platforms like GEE offer cost-effective means to support these decision-making processes by providing essential information and technical assistance for daily and seasonal monitoring of climate and crops. Google’s Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a powerful cloud computing platform designed for data storage and analysis, capable of handling both large- and small-scale scientific analysis and visualisation of geospatial datasets. It stores, organises, and provides access to a wide variety of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets, offering global-scale environmental data analysis capabilities. Widely used by researchers, nonprofit organisations, educators, and governmental agencies, GEE is available free of cost for non-commercial users and includes Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in JavaScript and Python.