The NASA harvest program on agriculture and food security

Historically, NASA has invested in scientific activities that demonstrate satellite data applications for agricultural monitoring beginning in the 1970s and continuing over several decades. NASA has consistently recognized new opportunities for satellite-based agricultural monitoring, culminating in 2016 with NASA's Applied Sciences Program officially calling for an innovative approach to a more coordinated effort to enable EO-based applications for agriculture. Openly competed and ultimately chosen as NASA's Food Security and Agriculture Program, NASA Harvest was established in 2017. Operating as an international consortium of over 50 partners across the agricultural sector (including universities, government agencies and government research organizations, NGOs, international multilateral organizations, and the private sector), NASA Harvest addresses the applications of Earth Observations to domestic and global agriculture and food security. The Consortium also serves as NASA's contribution to the GEOGLAM program. It is led by researchers at the University of Maryland, which provides a "Harvest Hub" with distributed partners, activities, and administrative support. NASA Harvest's broad mission is to enable and advance the adoption of satellite Earth observations by public and private organizations to benefit food security, agriculture, and human and environmental resiliency in the US and worldwide. The chapter provides details on the Harvest international and regional collaborations and projects, including science outputs useful to address food security concerns at various spatial scales.