Making Measurement Great Again: The Use of Sensors and Scanners for Rapid, High-Quality Data on Land
Sydney Gourlay, Adriana Paolantonio, John Ilukor
In a world with increasing climate change and intensifying food insecurity, agricultural productivity is central to development. Increasing agricultural productivity requires a detailed understanding of cultivated land and its limitations, and how these shortcomings can be addressed. In this regard, both land quality and quantity play a critical role. The ability to appropriately estimate the degree to which these inputs positively or negatively affect production is dependent on accurate measurement. With an evolving technological landscape, the menu of tools available to potentially measure land quality and quantity, particularly in cost-effective and scalable ways, is expanding. Through a methodological survey experiment implemented in Uganda, we set out to validate innovative approaches for measuring area (land quantity) and soil health (land quality) and assess their feasibility for implementation in household survey contexts and project operations, as well as the policy-relevant implications of their use.
Event: World Bank Land Conference 2024 - Washington
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