Following the successful 2022-2023 call for research proposals, the EO AFRICA R&D Facility, in coordination with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the African Union Commission (AUC), launched in September 2022 a 2nd call for proposals. The aim of this call is to extend the support to African-European collaborative research efforts in the domain of EO applications. Similar to the 1st call, applicants were invited to submit their research ideas to create EO-based algorithms and workflows by leveraging cutting-edge cloud-based data access and computing infrastructure to tackle water scarcity and food security challenges in Africa.
This grant provides the selected proposals with 25,000 EUR for research activities during a period of 12 months. In addition, awarded projects will get free access to cloud-based Virtual Research Environments through the Innovation Lab of the Facility, dedicated user and technical support, access to EO AFRICA Space Academy events, and integration into the EO AFRICA Network for international scientific collaboration.
Following the evaluation of the proposals by the Selection Committee in collaboration with ESA and AUC, 17 research projects (listed below) were awarded for funding from 11 African and 9 European countries.
Find the project descriptions HERE.
List of Funded Projects in alphabetical order
| Title | Co-PIs | Countries |
| A composite drought indicator for the Borana rangelands in Ethiopia combining multi-source Earth Observation data and the three-source balance model: a support to the index-based insurance for pastoralists in Ethiopia | Dr. Getachew Mehabie Mulualem – Dr. Vicente Burchard Levine | Ethiopia – Spain |
| Advances in deep learning model for irrigated agricultural area mapping: the case of Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Berhan Gessesse Awoke – Dr. Alireza Taravat | Ethiopia – United Kingdom |
| Application of remote sensing data to support pests monitoring and agriculture statistics in Rwanda | Prof. Dr. François Xavier Naramabuye – Dr. Vince Láng | Rwanda – Hungary |
| BIG data archetypes for crops from EO | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elhadi Adam – Prof. Dr. Philip Lewis | South Africa – United Kingdom |
| Cloud computing for seasonal cropland monitoring in degraded Shilansha catchment, Ethiopia Rift Valley Basin | Assefa Gedle – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tom Rientjes | Ethiopia – The Netherlands |
| Exploring aquatic weed coexistence using Sentinel-2 satellite data for informed aquatic weeds management for inland waterbodies | Dr. Cletah Shoko – Assist. Prof. Dr. Marloes Penning de Vries | South Africa – The Netherlands |
| Fodder quality assessment in Senegalese rangelands based on Sentinel-2 images | Dr. Diouf Abdoul Aziz – Dr. Leroux Louise | Senegal – France |
| Forest disturbance detection by means of radar and optical remote sensing data fusion and artificial intelligence | Dr. Femi Emmanuel Ikuemonisan – Prof. Dr. Kamila Pawluszek-Filipiak | Nigeria – Poland |
| Leveraging inland radar altimetry over rivers with low cost GNSS reflectometry | Zeleke Kelebew Challa – Assist. Prof. Dr. Ing. Roelof Rietbroek | Uganda – The Netherlands |
| Mapping and monitoring spatiotemporal desertification patterns in the steppic belt of Algeria | Prof. Dr. Mejdi Kaddour – Assist. Prof. Dr. Mahdi Khodadadzadeh | Algeria – The Netherlands |
| Monitoring and assessment of dry biomass in the Sahel rangelands using satellite images | Dr. Issa Garba – Dr. Roel van Hoolst | Niger – Belgium |
| Olive trees health and yield prediction through EO data and machine learning | Prof. Dr. Aicha Rochi – Assist. Prof. Dr. Judit Pál-Schreiner | Morocco – Hungary |
| Remote sensing and modelling to assess crop-specific response to climate stressors | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hussein Farah – Dr. Gohar Ghazaryan | Kenya – Germany |
| Riverine flood and crop monitoring and assessment using cloud computing and earth observation: case of Comoe Catchment, Côte D’Ivoire | Dr. Jean Homian Dahumah – Dr. Andrew Ogilvie | Côte D’Ivoire – France |
| Save the Faleme River: use of EO data for monitoring water pollution and scarcity due to anthropic activities | Dr. Ngom Ndeye Marame – Dr. David Baratoux | Senegal – France |
| Space-based and geospatial technology for disaster risk reduction: flood monitoring and prediction in Amibara, Afar, Ethiopia | Dr. Gizachew Kabite Wedajo – Prof. Dr. Paolo Gamba | Ethiopia – Italy |
| Using high spatial and temporal resolution data for monitoring wheat and rice crop agronomic variables for smallholder agriculture in the Nile Delta, Egypt | Prof. Dr. Ahmed Abd El Fattah El Baroudy – Prof. Dr. Belen Franch | Egypt – Spain |