The CM Box

Purpose

The Crop Monitoring “CM Box” offers software, training, and data (on request) for rapidly setting up an operational national crop monitoring and forecasting system.

Details

“CM Box”, a national turn-key crop monitoring and forecasting system, is an automated software suite that analyses weather data to asses their impact on crop production.

Interested countries will receive a combination of training, hardware and software customized for local use, as well as the real-time data required to operate the system in-country. The package can be tailored to suit countries' specific requirements, based on national preferences as well as available expertise and data.

The CM Box is meant to offer an easy solution for rapidly setting up an operational crop monitoring and forecasting system. In the initial phase, reference data as well as real-time satellite and weather data based on international sources can be provided by FAO headquarters. However, over the duration of the project, more and more national data will be used, as local know-how increases while the institutional set-up of the national food security system is improved.

By the end of the Project, it is foreseen that a sustainable crop monitoring and forecasting system, including hardware, software, institutions and personnel, will have been set up.