IGAD Food security, Nutrition & Resilience Information System

Crop Conditions (Cropland)

WRSI-based crop monitoring across 4 seasons (long rains, short rains, belg, and maize) sourced from USGS FEWS NET.

Overview

The Cropland module monitors in-season crop conditions using the Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (WRSI), applied to cultivated agricultural land. It provides an early-warning indicator of potential yield deficits before harvest.

Seasons

The module covers 4 crop seasons for East Africa:

Season	Period	FEWS NET Code
Season 1 — Long Rains (grains)	April – November	eastl
Season 2 — Short Rains	October – February	eastt
Season 3 — Belg (secondary rains)	March – September	eastk
Season 4 — Long Rains (maize)	March – November	easte

Data Layers (per dekad, per season)

Current WRSI — Accumulated WRSI value for the crop season to date.
Forecast WRSI — Projected end-of-season WRSI (end-of-season outlook).
Anomaly — Deviation of current WRSI from the long-term mean for the same dekad.

Data Model

Model	Level	Key Fields
CroplandSeason	Configuration	title, season_start, season_end
RegionCropland	IGAD Region	dekad, start_date, end_date, season, file_current, file_forecast, file_anomaly
CountryCropland	Country	country, dekad, season, min, max, mean
AdminCropland	Admin Unit	admin, dekad, season, min, max, mean

Unique constraint: ['dekad', 'season'] — one record per season per dekad at region level.

Interpreting Cropland WRSI

WRSI Value	Crop Condition	Harvest Outlook
80 – 100	Good	Normal to above-normal harvest expected
60 – 79	Moderate	Near-normal harvest, some losses possible
40 – 59	Poor	Below-normal harvest likely
< 40	Crop failure risk	Significant yield losses; food security implications

Views Available

Map (/cropland/map) — Interactive map with season selector, dekad selector, and data type toggle (Current / Forecast / Anomaly).
Upload (/cropland/upload/) — Upload three GeoTIFF files (Current, Forecast, Anomaly) for a selected season and dekad. The server clips, compresses, and calculates zonal statistics automatically.

Data Collection

python manage.py collect_cropland                     # Collect all 4 seasons
python manage.py collect_cropland --dry-run           # Preview without saving
python manage.py collect_cropland --season 1          # Long rains (grains) only
python manage.py collect_cropland --season 2          # Short rains only
python manage.py collect_cropland --season 3          # Belg only
python manage.py collect_cropland --season 4          # Long rains (maize) only
python manage.py collect_cropland --dekad 202605      # Specific dekad
python manage.py collect_cropland --latest 3          # Last 3 dekads per season

The command downloads WRSI zip archives from USGS FEWS NET (separate URL directories per season), extracts three TIF files, clips to the IGAD boundary, and populates Country and Admin level statistics.

Interpretation Guidance

WRSI below 50 during critical growth phases (flowering or grain-filling, typically mid-season) is a strong indicator of significant yield reduction. Cross-reference with NDVI percentage-of-mean and rainfall anomaly to build a composite crop stress assessment.