Building Earth Observation & AI Systems for Food Security and Climate Resilience

Building a more resilient, data-driven food system by bridging the gap between satellite insights and ground-level action

The Problem

To feed a growing global population, we must produce more food in the next few decades than in the previous centuries, at a time when climate volatility is making our traditional agricultural cycles unpredictable.

Until now, the world’s approach to Earth Observation has been top-heavy. We have access to petabytes of satellite imagery and advanced GEO-AI models, but a critical "last-mile" gap remains. High-level data often fails to reach the hands of those who need it most: the smallholder farmers, local governments, and NGOs making daily decisions on the ground.

Current systems are often standardized for large scale industrial farming. When applied to diverse, smallholder landscapes, these models lose precision. This lack of localized, actionable intelligence creates a cycle of vulnerability, where crop failures are detected only after they occur, and resource allocation remains reactive rather than proactive.

More than 8,000 satellites orbit Earth, taking photos every day. Food security specialist and TED Fellow Catherine Nakalembe shows how she uses this imagery to help smallholder farmers across Africa prepare for floods, droughts and crop failures. Learn why real innovation isn’t always about shinier technology

A New Framework for Actionable Insights.

01. Acquire & Aggregate

Ingesting multi-modal data streams—from Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery to localized soil sensor networks—to create a unified digital twin of the landscape.

02. Refine & Model

Using custom GEO-AI architectures to strip away atmospheric noise and identify the subtle spectral signatures of crop stress weeks before they are visible.

03. Action & Insight

Translating mathematical outputs into high-fidelity visualizations that empower stakeholders at UMD and beyond to make climate-smart decisions.

The Preparedness Gap: Moving from Data to Decision.

While we possess the technology to sense a drought months before it arrives, millions still face the preventable reality of food insecurity. Real innovation isn't found in the newest or 'shinier' satellite; it is found in closing the 'last-mile' gap, ensuring that localized, evidence based intelligence reaches the hands of the farmers and policy makers who must act on it. At XylemLab, we don't just build systems for observation; we build systems for resilience.

Project Roadmap & Stakeholders

Our research serves a global network of agricultural extensions, climate tech innovators,and international policy makers seeking evidence-based climate strategies.

Kinetic timeline of XylemLab’s three-year strategic roadmap. Moving from initial GEO-AI prototyping in 2024, through rigorous field validation with stakeholders in 2025, to global system implementation in 2026.