AMIS organized an international seminar on “Approaches and Methodologies for Crop Monitoring and Production Forecasting” in Dhaka on 25–26 May 2016, in collaboration with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Some 80 participants – a third of which from abroad – discussed their experiences and best practice examples.

A total of 27 technical papers were presented in the seminar’s five technical sessions. These reviewed different techniques for crop monitoring and production forecasting: e.g. remote sensing, agro-meteorological approaches, survey and administrative data, as well as crop simulation and modelling. The seminar’s concluding panel emphasized the importance of establishing multi-disciplinary working teams to ensure an effective crop production system. Panellists also highlighted the benefits of combining different approaches, such as ground surveys, crop modelling and satellite information. Finally, participants were encouraged to continuously consider user needs and ensure adequate political support for sustaining the system.

The seminar was particularly important for Bangladesh as it helped to fine-tune the intervention of AMIS to improve crop monitoring and production forecasting in the country. The Government of Bangladesh will now select the most suitable approaches from those discussed during the seminar and establish a multi-disciplinary expert’s team to support implementation. Interventions will try to improve ongoing efforts by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, which is based on statistical methods, and the Department of Agricultural Extension, which tries to build a forecasting system based on agro-metrological data.  

For more information on the seminar, click here.