G. J. Husak
YOU?
Author Swipe
View article: Investigating the performance of high-resolution subseasonal precipitation forecasts in support of food insecurity early warning
Investigating the performance of high-resolution subseasonal precipitation forecasts in support of food insecurity early warning Open
Anticipating precipitation extremes across sub-Saharan Africa can help mobilize interventions, trigger anticipatory actions, and promote beneficial actions like water harvesting. Reliable crop model forecasts can help identify when and whe…
View article: Contrasting performance of panel and time-series data models for subnational crop forecasting in Sub-Saharan Africa
Contrasting performance of panel and time-series data models for subnational crop forecasting in Sub-Saharan Africa Open
View article: Testing spatial out-of-sample area of influence for grain forecasting models
Testing spatial out-of-sample area of influence for grain forecasting models Open
We examine the factors that determine if a grain forecasting model fit to one region can be transferred to another region. Prior research has proposed examining the area of applicability (AoA) of a model based on structurally similar chara…
View article: ENSO-based outlook of droughts and agricultural outcomes in Afghanistan
ENSO-based outlook of droughts and agricultural outcomes in Afghanistan Open
Drought is one of the key drivers of food insecurity in Afghanistan, which is among the most food insecure countries in the world. In this study, we build on previous research and seek to answer the central question: “What is the influence…
View article: Crop area change in the context of civil war in Tigray, Ethiopia
Crop area change in the context of civil war in Tigray, Ethiopia Open
Smallholder, rain-fed agriculture has been practiced in Tigray, Ethiopia for thousands of years, so farmers have experience with natural disturbances. However, civil war began in November 2020 and disrupted the agricultural system through …
View article: NMME Experimental Subseasonal Precipitation Forecasts (SubX) provide enhanced predictions of end-of-season water balance over Sub-Saharan Africa
NMME Experimental Subseasonal Precipitation Forecasts (SubX) provide enhanced predictions of end-of-season water balance over Sub-Saharan Africa Open
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and its partners use timely and spatially focused monitoring products to guide humanitarian assistance and secure livelihoods in some of the world’s most food-insecure populations. …
View article: A global long-term daily reanalysis of reference evapotranspiration for drought and food-security monitoring
A global long-term daily reanalysis of reference evapotranspiration for drought and food-security monitoring Open
NOAA has developed a global reference evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) reanalysis using the UN Food and Agriculture Organization formulation (FAO-56) of the Penman-Monteith equation forced by MERRA phase 2 (MERRA2) meteorological and radiative d…
View article: Leveraging Hydroclimate and Earth Observation to Predict Grain Production in Sub-Saharan Africa
Leveraging Hydroclimate and Earth Observation to Predict Grain Production in Sub-Saharan Africa Open
The importance of forecasting agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is increasing for the management of agricultural supply chains, market forecasting, and targeting of food aid. In particular, agricultural forecasts enable g…
View article: Testing Spatial Out-of-Sample Area of Influence for Grain Forecasting Models: How does out of Spatial Out-of-Sample AoI Change through the Season?
Testing Spatial Out-of-Sample Area of Influence for Grain Forecasting Models: How does out of Spatial Out-of-Sample AoI Change through the Season? Open
The potential for predictive models based on earth observations (EO) and survey data to assist in famine early warning and other development applications is rapidly growing. However, while the spatial-temporal extent of EO data is complete…
View article: A new global reference evapotranspiration reanalysis: global opportunities in operational drought monitoring and famine early warning
A new global reference evapotranspiration reanalysis: global opportunities in operational drought monitoring and famine early warning Open
Data-sparse hydroclimates across the globe are often the most vulnerable to climate shocks and their populations to food insecurity. Drought monitoring and famine early warning in these regions have for too long relied on poor parameteriza…
View article: Contrasting Performance of Panel and Time-Series Models for Subnational Crop Forecasting in Sub-Saharan Africa
Contrasting Performance of Panel and Time-Series Models for Subnational Crop Forecasting in Sub-Saharan Africa Open
View article: Advancing early warning capabilities with CHIRPS-compatible NCEP GEFS precipitation forecasts
Advancing early warning capabilities with CHIRPS-compatible NCEP GEFS precipitation forecasts Open
View article: Maize yield forecasts for Sub-Saharan Africa using Earth Observation data and machine learning
Maize yield forecasts for Sub-Saharan Africa using Earth Observation data and machine learning Open
Food insecurity continues to grow in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In 2019, chronically malnourished people numbered nearly 240 million, or 20% of the population in SSA. Globally, numerous efforts have been made to anticipate potential drought…
View article: An Improved Climatological Forecast Method for Projecting End-of-Season Water Requirement Satisfaction Index
An Improved Climatological Forecast Method for Projecting End-of-Season Water Requirement Satisfaction Index Open
A simple—yet powerful—indicator for monitoring agricultural drought is the water requirement satisfaction index (WRSI). In data-sparse, food-insecure areas, the WRSI is used to guide billions of dollars of aid every year. The WRSI uses pre…
View article: Improving early warning of droughts near onset and middle of a growing season
Improving early warning of droughts near onset and middle of a growing season Open
<p>Early warning of drought is crucial for mitigation of the most adverse impacts of water and food insecurity to lives and livelihoods. Recent advances in routine production (i.e., weekly) and open access to NMME SubX—subs…
View article: Using real-time mobile phone data to characterize the relationships between small-scale farmers’ planting dates and socio-environmental factors
Using real-time mobile phone data to characterize the relationships between small-scale farmers’ planting dates and socio-environmental factors Open
View article: An Agro-Pastoral Phenological Water Balance Framework for Monitoring and Predicting Growing Season Water Deficits and Drought Stress
An Agro-Pastoral Phenological Water Balance Framework for Monitoring and Predicting Growing Season Water Deficits and Drought Stress Open
Sharing simple ideas across a broad community of practitioners helps them to work together more effectively. For this reason, drought early warning systems spend a considerable effort on describing how hazards are detected and defined. Wel…
View article: Sending out an SOS: using start of rainy season indicators for market price forecasting to support famine early warning
Sending out an SOS: using start of rainy season indicators for market price forecasting to support famine early warning Open
We examine relationships between the start of rainy season (SOS) and sub-national grain (white maize) market price movements in five African countries. Our work is motivated by three factors: (a) some regions are seeing increasing volatili…
View article: Crop Area Mapping in Southern and Central Malawi With Google Earth Engine
Crop Area Mapping in Southern and Central Malawi With Google Earth Engine Open
Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa consists primarily of smallholder farms of rainfed crops. Historically, satellite data were too coarse to account for the heterogeneity in these landscapes. Sentinel-2 data have improved spectral resolutio…
View article: Enhancing Access and Usage of Earth Observations in Environmental Decision-Making in Eastern and Southern Africa Through Capacity Building
Enhancing Access and Usage of Earth Observations in Environmental Decision-Making in Eastern and Southern Africa Through Capacity Building Open
Major strides have been made in the development of remote sensing, reanalysis, and model-based earth observations (EOs), which can be used for long-term climate variability mapping, as well as real-time environmental monitoring and forecas…
View article: Forecasting agropastoral water deficits in West Africa to support food insecurity early warning
Forecasting agropastoral water deficits in West Africa to support food insecurity early warning Open
<p>West Africa (WA) is prone to food insecurity due to climate-, economic-, conflict-related shocks, as well as high population growth and lack of proper adaptation strategies. As per the USAID’s Famine Early Warning System…
View article: Maize yield forecast using earth observation data and machine learning for Sub-Saharan Africa
Maize yield forecast using earth observation data and machine learning for Sub-Saharan Africa Open
<p>In Sub-Saharan Africa, forecasting of agricultural production is becoming increasingly important for the management of the agricultural supply chain, market prediction, and food aid. More importantly, agricultural forecasts can en…
View article: Exploring Strategies for Investigating the Mechanisms Linking Climate and Individual-Level Child Health Outcomes: An Analysis of Birth Weight in Mali
Exploring Strategies for Investigating the Mechanisms Linking Climate and Individual-Level Child Health Outcomes: An Analysis of Birth Weight in Mali Open
The goal of this article is to consider data solutions to investigate the differential pathways that connect climate/weather variability to child health outcomes. We apply several measures capturing different aspects of climate/weather var…
View article: Enhancing the Application of Earth Observations for Improved Environmental Decision-Making Using the Early Warning eXplorer (EWX)
Enhancing the Application of Earth Observations for Improved Environmental Decision-Making Using the Early Warning eXplorer (EWX) Open
The mitigation of losses due to extreme climate events and long-term climate adaptation requires climate informed decision-making. In the past few decades, several remote sensing and modeled-based Earth observations (EOs) have been develop…
View article: A slow rainy season onset is a reliable harbinger of drought in most food insecure regions in Sub-Saharan Africa
A slow rainy season onset is a reliable harbinger of drought in most food insecure regions in Sub-Saharan Africa Open
Since 2015, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has experienced an unprecedented rise in acute food insecurity (AFI), and current projections for the year 2020 indicate that more than 100 million Africans are estimated to receive emergency food assis…
View article: Better Advance Warnings of Drought: A New NASA Hydrological Forecast System
Better Advance Warnings of Drought: A New NASA Hydrological Forecast System Open
any regions in Africa and the Middle East are vulnerable to water and food insecurity-a motivation for the U.S. Agency for International Development's Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and other drought warning efforts.These …
View article: Identifying Precipitation and Reference Evapotranspiration Trends in West Africa to Support Drought Insurance
Identifying Precipitation and Reference Evapotranspiration Trends in West Africa to Support Drought Insurance Open
West Africa represents a wide gradient of climates, extending from tropical conditions along the Guinea Coast to the dry deserts of the south Sahara, and it has some of the lowest income, most vulnerable populations on the planet, which in…
View article: Improving early warning of drought-driven food insecurity in southern Africa using operational hydrological monitoring and forecasting products
Improving early warning of drought-driven food insecurity in southern Africa using operational hydrological monitoring and forecasting products Open
The region of southern Africa (SA) has a fragile food economy and is vulnerable to frequent droughts. Interventions to mitigate food insecurity impacts require early warning of droughts – preferably as early as possible before the harvest …
View article: Understanding the Demand Perspective of Drought and Food Insecurity in Africa using A New Evaporative Demand Reanalysis.
Understanding the Demand Perspective of Drought and Food Insecurity in Africa using A New Evaporative Demand Reanalysis. Open
<p>A robust definition of drought is as a sustained and impactful surface moisture imbalance between its supply and demand. While the supply aspect has generally long been well characterized by precipitation, the same cannot be said …
View article: The NASA Hydrological Forecast System for Food and Water Security Applications
The NASA Hydrological Forecast System for Food and Water Security Applications Open
Many regions in Africa and the Middle East are vulnerable to drought and to water and food insecurity, motivating agency efforts such as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET…