June 1-3, 2026 | FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy

The GeoField Convening will bring together approximately 125 people for a hybrid event to share recent progress on the integration of Earth observation into agricultural and climate-related impact evaluations. Participants will span disciplines and organizations, including evaluation experts, remote sensing specialists, and agricultural programming organizations. We will present use cases from our GeoField initiative as well as papers from the upcoming special issue in the Journal of Development Economics, as well as chapters of the forthcoming open-source textbook, Geospatial Impact Evaluation in Practice. Additional sessions will focus on relevant topics such as AI, deforestation monitoring, and the specific opportunities and challenges for organizations such as FAO, IFAD, AFD, and the Gates Foundation.

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Organizers: The event will be hosted by FAO and AidData. Additional sponsors for the event include IFAD, AFD, and the Gates Foundation.

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Joining Virtually

This is a hybrid event. Virtual attendees can join via Zoom using the links below. Please use the link for the room your session is in -- each room has its own unique link.

Day 1 — Monday, June 1 | Red Room https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WW8sn684S9uRgMF0UEhsYA

‍Password: 68119344

Days 2 & 3 — June 2-3 | Ethiopia Room https://fao.zoom.us/meeting/register/rD_GTs3fQJiEa3hu_xECaw

‍Password: 66716617

Days 2 & 3 — June 2-3 | Philippines Room https://fao.zoom.us/meeting/register/p6Ys1ysgRZ-lQfGVG3ZFGQ ‍

Password: 71664799

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Day 1 Agenda — Monday, June 1, 2026

9:15-10:00am    Continental Breakfast

10:00-11:00am    Session 1: Plenary Welcome+ Keynote David Laborde, Karen Macours, Ariel BenYishay

11:00-11:30am    Break

11:30-12:45pm    Session 2: GeoField UseCase Presentations Niger Rainwater Harvesting | Niger FMNR | Somalia Irrigation

12:45-2:15pm    Lunch (Provided)

2:15-3:30pm    Session 3: GeoField UseCase Presentations Bangladesh AWD | India Leaf ColorCharts | Nigeria Crop Insurance

3:30-4:00pm    Break

4:00-5:15pm    Session 4: GeoField UseCase Presentations Nepal Sugarcane | Bangladesh Stress-Tolerant Rice | Ethiopia Sweet Potatoes

Day 2 Agenda — Tuesday, June 2, 2026

8:30-9:00am    Continental Breakfast(Provided)

9:00-10:15am    Sessions 5a/5b: Journal of Development Economics Special Issue (Parallel) 5a: War damage, ag technology & deforestation, land acquisitions, irrigation infrastructure 5b: Gas flaring, landmine clearance, insurance zones, mines & agriculture

10:15-10:45am    Break

10:45-12:00pm    Sessions 6a/6b: GIE in Practice Chapters (Parallel) 6a Causal Methods: Causal inference, spatial DiD, RCTs 6b Geospatial Practices: EO data uses, geospatial analytics, foundation models

12:00-1:30pm    Lunch (Provided)

1:30-2:45pm    Sessions 7a/7b (Parallel) 7a Hands-On: Offsetting forest loss from infrastructure (bring laptop) 7b: IATI location standards, EO-socioeconomic data integration, ethical considerations

2:45-3:15pm    Break

3:15-4:45pm    Sessions 8a/8b (Parallel) 8a Hands-On: Rainwater harvesting impacts in arid landscapes (bring laptop) 8bCase Studies: Ag intensification DiD, forest loss in Ghana, typhoon economic impacts

5:00-7:00pm    Evening Networking Reception Rooftop Terrace, FAO Headquarters

Day 3 Agenda — Wednesday, June 3, 2026

8:30-9:00am    Continental Breakfast(Provided)

9:00-10:15am    Sessions 9a/9b (Parallel) 9a FAO: EO for monitoring & impact evaluation -- land restoration, flood monitoring, Benin, Bolivia 9b AFD/KfW: Practitioner-led MOOC on geospatial IE for decision-makers

10:15-10:45am    Break

10:45-12:00pm    Sessions 10a/10b (Parallel) 10a IFAD: EO for long-term IE -- rangelands, irrigation, long-term evaluation feedback 10b Conservation IE: Connectivity indicators, Madagascar spatial data, coastal Haiti, land investments

12:00-1:30pm    Lunch (Provided)

1:30-2:45pm    Sessions 11a/11b: Regional Sessions (Parallel) 11a Focus on Africa 11b Focus on South Asia

2:45-3:15pm    Break

3:15-4:45pm    Sessions 12a/12b (Parallel) 12a Deforestation: Global land cover monitoring, digital public infrastructure, EU Deforestation Regulation 12b Open Invitation: Ag intensification in Mali, weather data specification, India biodiversity landscapes, Sen4CAP in Senegal& Zimbabwe

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