Tango-Tiger

As a Ugandan badminton player Catherine Nagalembe wanted to study sport science at university. But a failure to get the grade needed for a government scholarship put her on the path that led her to NASA and won the prestigious food research award, writes the BBC's Patience Atuhaire.When Dr. Nakalembe tried to explain to the farmer, Karamo Jong in northeastern Uganda, how her work using images taken from satellites hundreds of kilometers above the earth relates to his small plot. He laughed Although she uses hi-res images in her pioneering work to help farmers and governments make better decisions. But she still has to prepare better information.

In other words, from space you can't tell the slotxo difference between grass, corn, and sorghum.Through a translator, I told the farmer that when I looked at the data, I only saw green.I printed the pictures, which I showed him, and then he understood you have to see the physical farms to make a difference.She is a woman who speaks softly and has a bright demeanor and it is difficult to imagine her long hikes in the heat of the semi-arid Karamoja and wants to tease out the subtle nuances that can Can only be seen on the ground This is especially important in agricultural areas dominated by smallholders, where different crops may be cultivated at different times, leading to many variables. Such complexity makes it nearly impossible for most officers to examine.
Dr.

Nakalembe, assistant professor at the University of Maryland's Department of Geographic Sciences in the United States, uses satellite data to study agricultural and climate patterns.The data is combined with information gathered on the ground about the crop and its condition to create a model that learns to recognize patterns to aid forecasts.This is what earned her the 2020 African Food Awards alongside Burkina Faso's Dr André Bationo for her work in fertilizer.The scientist, who heads the Africa section of Nasa's food and agriculture program, explains: "From the air you can see what areas were created, bare, with vegetation or water.We can also tell what a crop is or what a forest is. Since we have a 30-year record of what plants look like, we can tell what's healthy, which is not, or which is better.


'Lifeline for rural families'

The researchers then used the data collected on the ground or sent by the farmers herself.She was then able to distinguish between types of crops and create a map showing how the farm was thriving compared to the same crops in that region.The model has been used in places like the United States where industrial farming machines are used. The information can help you make decisions about when to irrigate or how much fertilizer should be used.But even farmers in Uganda or elsewhere on the continent, using only a hoe and working long hours in their small area, will find this information valuable.Remote sensing makes it possible to examine large areas using independent information available.

You can make a forecast if you include a satellite estimate of rainfall and temperature, you can tell if it will rain in the next 10 days and farmers should prepare their fields, or if they don't have rain, they don't." Wasted the seeds in vain and waited a few weeks, ”said Dr. Nakalembe.In most of the continents where farms are often small plots that are scattered far from sources, this information can be translated into localized text, radio broadcasts or passed on through agricultural extension workers.It is also evidence that the government can use it to plan for disaster response in the event of crop failure or flash floods and save communities from starvation.Early research by Dr Nakalembe saw 84,000 people in Karamoja avoid the worst effects of inclement weather and a lack of rain.She worked with us in 2016 to develop tools that predict drought incidence," said Stella Sengendo, who works on disaster risk in the prime minister's office.We used these to estimate the number of households most likely to be affected by the harsh magic, and then we developed programs that fund families through local governments.

People do public jobs and earn money during the dry season, saving 30% and using 70% for their daily consumption,” explains Sengendo.The 5,500 Ugandan shillings ($ 1.50, £ 1.12) per day are the lifeline for families in regions with a single harvest season, and about 60% of these workers are women, according to studies. The worst impacts of climate change Environmental scientist by accident Dr. Nakalembe is a working mother in the capital, with a restaurant-maker mother and a mechanic father. Nakalembe never imagined himself working with satellites.She played badminton with her sister and wanted to continue her education in sports science. But there is no required grade