Employees of the National Space Science Agency Lab, participated in the training course organized by the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee, Republic of India under the title “Applications of remote sensing and geographic information systems in the agricultural sector”, which lasted for three days, and was attended by more than 23 specialists in the field of agriculture and remote sensing from a selected number of governmental and private bodies, institutions and institutions, at the regional and international levels.

The course discussed several topics with an impact on the development of the agricultural sector, the most prominent of which are related to the threats and challenges facing the agricultural sector, monitoring and follow-up of risks, and how to exploit remote sensing techniques and geographic information systems to develop this sector, monitor its projects, inventory its needs and estimate its production. These techniques are also used to classify space images and assess their accuracy in the service of the agricultural sector such as mapping vegetation cover, determining its areas, analyzing soil and classifying crops.

On her participation as a representative of the National Space Science Agency, Senior Space Data Analyst , Ms. Aysha AlHajeri, said: “Participation in such international courses has a great importance and role in the transfer of knowledge and the exchange of experiences with experts and specialists from different countries of the world, where the necessary skills in remote sensing have been developed and new knowledge has been acquired for space applications that will serve the Kingdom of Bahrain in the field of the agricultural sector.”

Roaya Bubshait, Senior Space Data Analyst, explained: “In our time, agriculture has become an economic activity based on the use of the latest technologies to achieve sustainable and climate-smart agricultural patterns. There are several environmental and human factors affecting the agricultural sector such as climate and urban changes, and knowing them is of great importance to decision makers. From the principle of expanding the base of interest in scientific studies and research in the agricultural field, participation in this training course was carried out, as remote sensing techniques and geographic information systems contribute to the establishment of an integrated information system to identify the needs of the agricultural sector through analytical studies and share them with stakeholders to accelerate the development of the Kingdom of Bahrain and enhance the tireless efforts to sustain the agricultural sector and achieve food security. “

It is worth mentioning that the laboratories of the NSSA are one of the main sources of providing high-resolution satellite data and images to stakeholders, which have produced a lot of studies in various fields and contributed to providing reliable information to decision makers in the Kingdom.