Welcome to the third annual Agrilinks theme month on Earth Observations for Food Security and Agriculture — the Climate Edition!

We are pleased to share with the Agrilinks community even more of the cutting-edge work that is being done by researchers and practitioners who leverage data collected by satellites in space for the benefit of humanity here on Earth.

In 2021, as the world comes together to address the critical challenges posed by a rapidly changing and increasingly variable climate, this year's posts will highlight the links between climate and food security, the unique light that data from Earth-observing satellites can shed on these relationships and the role that each one of us has to play in using this knowledge to support the well-being of people and the planet.

Earth observations data are key inputs into the kinds of analyses and decision-making processes that are critical to promoting food and water security and resilience to recurrent crisis. Because Earth observations provide global, frequent and detailed information about rainfall, temperature, soil, crops, water, forest cover and land use, they help us obtain a better understanding of the conditions in the places where we work, improve targeting of programs to populations in need and conduct evidence-based assessments of whether those programs had their intended benefit.

Data from Earth-observing satellites also allow us to measure the ways that changes in the climate impact dynamics in the biophysical systems that support food and water security for people around the world.

This month provides an opportunity for leading researchers in the field and those who are new to engage in mutually beneficial dialogues to share learning and good practices, identify and fill knowledge gaps, and draw attention to outstanding work being done on this critical topic.

We encourage individuals in the community with research and case studies to submit content for this month and participate in a conversation that will generate a greater understanding of how Earth observations can help us create a food-secure, climate-resilient future.