flawiya/Africa-Drought-Study

Identifying African agricultural drought triggers using the Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSI) for early-warning parametric insurance. # African Agricultural Drought Study: SSI-Based Parametric Triggers Project focus: SSI Triggers, Satellite Data, Parametric Insurance. ## 🌍 Project Overview This research focuses on the **Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSI)** as a primary spatio-temporal trigger for agricultural drought insurance in Africa. ## 🔬 Why SSI? (The Early Warning Advantage) While traditional indices like NDVI (Vegetation) measure the *result* of drought, SSI measures the *physical supply* of water in the root zone. - **Early Trigger Capability**: SSI identifies moisture stress 2-4 weeks before biological signals (NDVI) appear. - **Root Zone Focus**: We utilize **ERA5-Land Layer 2 (7-28cm)** soil moisture, which directly correlates with the survival of major African crops like Maize and Teff during the grain-filling stage. - **Reduced Basis Risk**: By standardizing daily soil moisture against a 25-year Julian Day baseline, we capture "Flash Droughts" that monthly indices often miss. ## 📂 Repository Structure - `core_analysis/`: Primary implementation of SSI calculation using ERA5-Land reanalysis data. - `data_acquisition/`: GEE scripts to extract volumetric soil water and climate variables. - `utils/`: Spatial-join tools to align GADM district boundaries with gridded soil data. --- *Developed for Africa Specialty Risks Ltd.*