Crop Yield Forecasting

This project’s objective is to forecast agricultural production at different scales, using remote
sensing and an agro-meteorological CGMS – a task that requires teamwork. The three
scientific partners involved in the B-CGMS project (i.e. ULg, CRA-W, and VITO) are delocalized
institutions and distant from one another. Moreover, the subject is multi-disciplinary and
requires a large amount of data, which are highly heterogeneous and must be collected,
validated, generated and archived. These operations are performed over time and are not
carried out simultaneously. The B-CGMS server is a common starting point for the three
partners, and all information is centralized and stored therein. The system has three types of
relational databases (Figure 1.6 below):
• a meta-database, to manage the different tables and files;
• a geographic database; and
• a semantic database (input data, simulation results, cropped areas...).
• These databases are managed by two systems, which can be accessed locally or
remotely (via Internet):
• a management system and query database (a DBMS); and
• a data analysis system, in the form of maps, graphs and tables (a GIS server).
The B-CGMS implementation has three levels and may be described as a three-tier
architecture (Figure 1.7). The GIS client and its browser (the GIS Browser) represent the first
level. The dynamic GIS server (GIS Web Server) is the second level, and makes up the core
of the architecture. This constitutes the linkage between client requests and the access to
databases and data processing.
Crop Yield Forecasting: Methodological and Institutional Aspects 45