Enhancing development through space technology

Explosive population growth, limited land resources, low levels of agricultural activity and poor management of land and water resources have made the task of providing food security to the peoples of the developing countries a formidable challenge. Space technology can be a powerful tool for accelerating national development. It provides a way of overcoming obsolete technologies and an alternative to percolation and trickle-down models of national development. The application of space technology can effectively deal with problems of illiteracy, isolation and lack of information afflicting the development process. Depending upon each country's unique social, economic, cultural and resource context, and taking account other alternative technologies, space can play an important role in specific areas of development. Space technology can contribute to a realistic appreciation of the problems and to a rapid improvement of agricultural production on a sustainable basis.

In many developing countries it still remains a challenge to demonstrate to high-level policy makers the potential benefits, particularly for economic and social development, of utilizing space technology and applications.