Integrating Remotely Sensed Soil Moisture in Assessing the Effects of Climate Change on Food Production: A Review of Applications in Crop Production in Africa

Abstract

Remotely sensed soil moisture is crucial in enhancing our understanding of how climate change influences food production. Conventionally, the acquisition of soil moisture data has always been based on in-situ measurements, which are costly, labour-intensive, spatially restricted and time-consuming to acquire. These limitations justify why most resource-constrained developing countries have been paying increasing attention to remote sensing. Although remote sensing has established potentials to address these challenges, progress in the application of this technology to crop production in Africa has not been properly documented. This chapter attempts to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive review of the progress that has been accomplished to date and the gaps that need to be filled in and, successes and opportunities that have to strengthened and exploited.