Online crop management support platform

Producing more food without expanding cropland requires farmers and advisors to base management decisions on scientific evidence. The project is developing a free, open-access online platform to support those decisions for the main crops of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay (wheat, barley and rapeseed) and Honduras (maize, beans and rice). It has four objectives. First, to extend the CRONOS phenology prediction models, which already have more than 65,000 registered users, to new crops and countries, so that users can choose cultivars and sowing dates suited to local climate. Second, to quantify yield gaps in each country, identify their causes and propose management improvements that also reduce the carbon footprint. Third, to develop management strategies for scenarios of higher temperature and CO₂ concentration using crop simulation models. Fourth, to transfer results to farmers, advisors and students through training workshops and a platform user tutorial.