On 1st Jan 2011, the four original actions (GeoCAP, Agri4Cast, CID and FoodSec) of the MARS (“Monitoring Agricultural Resources”) Unit were administratively assigned to the
Institute for Environment and Sustainability. A new re-structuring across the JRC has taken place on 1st Jan 2012, following the implementation of the new JRC
Strategy 2010-2020. The MARS Unit’s activities will increasingly take into account the Commission’s priorities concerning environment, sustainability, cross compliance and climate change impacts linked to agricultural policy, both in the EU and globally.
As of 1st Jan 2012, the CID action does no longer belong to MARS, while AGRI-ENV has joined the Unit. Neil Hubbard is Head of Unit from 1st Dec 2011.
The Monitoring Agricultural ResourceS (MARS) Unit Mission
We provide scientific and technical support on EU Agriculture and Food Security policies.
- In Europe, the Unit addresses key issues related to the management and control of the Common Agriculture Policy: Independent crop yield forecasts, agricultural insurances, standard control methods of area based subsidies, compliance with environment, and effect of climate change. It supports EU projects related to Land Administration, the enlargement process, and the GMES Space Component.
- In developing countries, assistance is given to the EU Food Security Thematic Program with special emphasis on Africa, and to providing building blocks for an European capacity for Global Agriculture Monitoring.
The activities of the Unit are based on expertise in agro- meteorological crop modelling, sampling methods, econometrics, geomatics (GIS, GPS and ICT), and satellite & airborne remote-sensing (the Unit manages the EC Framework Contracts for the provision of Satellite Remote Sensing data and manages the access/dissemination of EU image data archives).
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In Focus
MARS 2012
Job Opportunities
Job openings in the MARS Unit
Job openings have just been published. Deadline is March 7th, 2012.
The MARS Unit is looking for 2 Grant Holders.
Latest News & Events
Job openings in the MARS Unit
Job openings have just been published. Deadline is March 7th, 2012.
The MARS Unit is looking for 2 Grant Holders.
E-AGRI meeting - 23.11.2011 JRC ISPRA
Crop Monitoring as an E-agriculture tool in developing countries
New Job openings in the MARS Unit
3 job openings have just been published. The MARS Unit is looking for 3 Grant Holders
5th CGMS expert meeting 21.11 - 22.11.2011 JRC ISPRA
The aim of the 5th CGMS expert meeting is to have open and constructive exchanges about the usage of crop growth models for crop monitoring and especially CGMS applications in different spatial contexts.
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GNSS (GPS) Workshop 2011
The aim of this workshop is to have open and constructive exchanges about the practical use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) devices in the frame of the of the Common Agriculture Policy (control activities, management of the Land Parcel Identification Systems).
Latest Bulletins & Publications
HR Specifications 2012
HR Image Specifications for the CwRS Programme - 2012
HR_Specifications_2012.pdf 433.05 kB
VHR Specifications 2012
VHR Image Specifications for the CwRS Programme - 2012
VHR_Specifications_2012.pdf 737.28 kB
Mars Bulletin Vol. 20 No.01 (Agro-meteorological overview and weather forecast - 13 Jan 2012)
There were milder than usual thermal conditions over most Europe providing favourable conditions for the development and wintering of all winter crops. Frost events were less frequent than usual. The precipitation exceeded by far the average in the western part of Europe.
...VOL20_no1.pdf 4.12 MB
Document MARS BULLETIN Vol.19 No.23 (Agrometeorological analysis and weather forecast - 13.12.2011)
HIGHLIGHT
Mild thermal conditions occurred in the major area of western and northern Europe. Colder than average weather conditions characterized in most of the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey. November proved to be one of the driest in several countries. The long lasting water deficiency...
MARS_BULL2011_VOL19NO23.pdf 1.32 MB
Special Issue – Qualitative estimation of the development of rainfed crops in West Africa at October 31st, 2011
The document aims at contributing to the evaluation of the agriculture season 2011 in West Africa. It is focused on a geographic windows going from Senegal to Chad between 20th and 9th parallel North.The analysis has been based on the evolution of the NDVI in the main rainfed agricul...
WA 2011-01_FINAL.pdf 2.70 MB
