by Fabrizio del Piero

About the author: Fabrizio del Piero is an Italian journalist specializing in international affairs.

For decades, Western nations have been putting surveying satellites in orbit to observe the earth but, inevitably, thinking mainly of their own national interests. For example, better weather forecasts are obtained thanks to geostationary spacecraft placed at the equator, over the very center of Africa. Much other data, acquired at the same time, would have been precious for the developing countries, but remained unutilized.

This information is now being put to good use. The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has brought together European and American space agencies and research institutions willing to put their generosity and advanced technological skills into a complex but worthwhile endeavor to promote food security in the...