In the SADC region, 90% percent of agricultural production is rain-fed leaving only 10% to irrigation. These statistics strengthen the argument that weather and climate are one of the biggest risks for production.

As the start of the season, regional staff should be prepared to monitor and assess the performance of the agricultural season. The monitoring will involve:
- the evaluation of rainfall performance and crop conditions; and
- estimating potential yields and production.

To do this, staff will need appropriate tools and methodologies. FAO has developed tools and methodologies for food security monitoring and assessment. These will be shared with member states during the workshop.

To enhance regional experts' capacity to:
• use remote sensing data for applications in food security monitoring and assessments including the access of SPOT NDVI data from Meteosat Second Generation (MSG);
• use FAO tools and methodologies for applications in food security monitoring and assessments, mainly the Crop Monitoring box (CMB);
• develop Meta Data to enhance the use of data for analysis to realize useful products; and
• appreciate Geo-WRSI for seasonal monitoring using satellite data.