The Geospatial Knowledge, Innovation and Technology (GeoKIT) Network of FAO Americas organized a GeoKIT Talks series webinar on Agro-Ecological Zoning (AEZ) for crop yield and yield gap assessment for project formulation and implementation.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have developed the Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ) methodological approach over the past decades for assessing agricultural resources and potential. AEZ relies on well-established land evaluation principles (FAO, 1976) to assess natural resources and to identify suitable agricultural land utilization options. AEZ is used in support of national and international land resources assessments, land use planning, agricultural development plans, food security, and several Sustainable Development Goals monitoring (in particular SDGs 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, and 15).

The objective of this webinar was to provide potential users and stakeholders of AEZ with examples of synthetic, crop-specific information derived primarily from the Global AEZ assessment. This information can be used to support sustainable land use planning, decision-making for food security, and agricultural development. Additionally, the webinar will include case studies demonstrating the use of AEZ for project formulation and implementation.