CEOS has formed a working group of space agencies with the following mandates:
- Liaise with the JECAM scientific users to understand their requirements thoroughly
- Plan coordinated acquisitions that will:
- Respond to the science requirements
- Exploit the advantages of each space sensor
- Share the load of data acquisitions.
Follow up to ensure successful acquisition according to the plan, with adjustments as required.
The benefits for CEOS and the space agencies are visible demonstrations of support to the international community on a matter of such high priority as food security. These demonstrations have the potential to translate into public support for CEOS programs. In the examples of the International Polar Year and the GEO Forest Carbon Tracking task, these benefits have been realized.
Further benefits include validation of the usefulness of the data from each EO sensor for agricultural monitoring, and dissemination of the research results.