Italy - Agricultural services - Operational Support to In-Season Crop Monitoring and Yield Forecasting Activities (MARSOP7)

The purpose of the tender is to contract operational services related to the crop monitoring and yield forecasting activities of the JRC.D.5 unit (MARSOP). Implementing Article 25 of the horizontal regulation of the Common Agricultural Policy REG (EU) 2021/2116 on Monitoring Agricultural Resources (MARS), JRC.D.5 provides DG AGRI with timely, independent, and high-quality information on crop state and development, including quantitative forecasts of agricultural yields and production in the EU and neighbouring countries. This information is used by DG AGRI to ensure food security and for decision-making in agricultural markets. The JRC provides matching staff for agricultural analysts and experts producing monthly JRC MARS Bulletins for Commission-internal and public use, which are well received by private sector stakeholders, academics and the general public. Such services have been outsourced since 2000 (MAROSP1-6), financed through a co-delegation with DG AGRI. The operational services sustain the operation and further development of the MARS Crop Yield Forecasting System (MCYFS) at the heart of the crop monitoring activities at D.5. For the current procurement, we plan to organize the operational services for the MARS System in three different lots: - Lot 1: Acquisition and processing of agro-meteorological information - Lot 2: Acquisition and processing of satellite data - Lot 3: Processing of agronomic information from crop models and statistics. Lot 1 - Acquisition and processing of agro-meteorological information: The objective of Lot 1 is to acquire and process in near real-time (NRT) agro-meteorological data for ingestion and use in the MARS System. The sources of meteorological data to be acquired and processed are basically two: observed weather data from meteorological stations in Europe, and modelled weather data generated at the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) at various lead times. Data processing includes quality control, spatial and temporal aggregation, and NRT ingestion into the MARS System. Lot 2 - Acquisition and processing of satellite data: Lot 2 supports the remote sensing infrastructure of the MARS System for Europe and global coverage with specific, tailored products. The service comprises NRT data collection, pre-processing and computation of derived products for the remote sensing satellites MODIS/VIIRS as well as Copernicus products. Lot 3 - Processing of agronomic information from crop models and statistics: Services of this lot include the NRT execution of crop growth models over Europe driven by weather data for specific target crops as well as NRT processing of the Water Satisfaction Index at global level. The repeated collection and quality-control and processing of agricultural statistics, pheonological data, and other agronomic information is an intrinsic part of this lot.