24-28 April 2017 / Budapest, Hungary
This training was organised in cooperation with WMO, ESA, SEA, H SAF, LSA SAF, FAO.
The main objective was to offer analysis and software solutions to agro- meteorologists or hydrologists in Central Europe, and to take advantage of satellite data.
The amount of information currently available can be overwhelming, so this course focused on the problems of grabbing the data for analysis and monitoring of yields, vegetation condition and droughts — a mounting concern. Soil moisture and drought are the two major concerns in the central-eastern European region, at a time when the attention to harvests and desertification grows.
Attendance was the highest since these courses started in Niamey in 2012.
In addition to presentations, discussion focused on regional needs. While for some overviews as those explained in the course were adequate, other participants requested specific training on the tools: how to use them and the resulting data. The 45 participants filled a well-equipped auditorium and were both active and critical.
There was some difficulty in identifying an organisation where users can have recourse to, and how to ask for information and training on specific topics. There was consensus on the need for more training, which is encouraging.