152 Assessing the Needs of the World’s Most Food-Insecure Countries In 2022, it was the onset of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In 2023, it was extreme heat across many countries and fall armyworms munching maize crops across southern Africa. These leading causes of food insecurity are just a few of the crises in focus for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The Data in Emergencies (DIEM) team uses satellite imagery, data collected from the field, and advanced spatial analysis and mapping to investigate root causes and mitigation strategies to reduce food insecurity. “People are living in situations where they are constantly being hit by something,” said Neil Marsland, head of the DIEM team in the Office of Emergencies and Resilience at FAO in Rome. “You can have a flood followed by a livestock disease outbreak and, at the same time, have conflict breaking out and the currency plunging.” FAO kicked off a data-driven monitoring program in 2020—during the pandemic—to assess rising agricultural stresses in countries where food insecurity has become chronic. To monitor food vulnerability and survey the needs of farmers, the team created the DIEM Hub using GIS technology and remote sensing. People assess earthquake damage in the northwest corner of the Syrian Arab Republic.
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