Egypt is the second biggest rice producer in Africa after Nigeria and produces rice mostly during the summer season. Annual estimations of crop areas and yield are derived using information collected on the ground by extension services and released by the Ministry of Agriculture. However, sample sizes are usually small and can not be easily expanded due to costs and staff shortages. In addition, crop area and production estimates are released after harvest, which is too late to be used for interventions. Timely, accurate, and actionable information on rice areas and production is essential for improving food security policy decisions. This use case aims to develop a digital rice monitoring platform in Egypt based on near-real-time satellite data to support national policies, food security, and market management, as well as to facilitate farmers’ resilience through the development of insurance and microfinance products. This report presents the preliminary results of mapping rice areas across the Nile Delta during the 2022 summer season using IRRI’s RIICE platform in collaboration with Tanta University and European Space Agenc
