there exist efforts to increase agricultural production, but this is not happening at the same rate as population growth [5; 6; 7; 8]. The majority of poor people live in ASA regions of the world where primary productivity is achieved through agriculture and farming at small or large scales [9]. Although the contribution of agriculture to the economy may vary among the ASA regions across the world, it is generally crucial to economic growth. For example, agriculture contributes a substantial share of Africa's economy (15% of total GDP) [10]. The agricultural sector in Africa provides employment to half of the total labour force [11] and provides livelihoods for the majority of small-scale farmers within rural areas [10]. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 80% of agricultural land is smallholder-based and employs more than 175 million people [12]. Similarly, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions, agriculture contributes only 13% to GDP, but is of strategic importance to the economy [13]. Therefore, any disruptions in the agriculture sector will have far reaching impacts on food security in these regions. In addition to the above, most undernourished people in Africa are based in Sub-Saharan countries where there was an increase of about 32 million undernourished people since 2014 [4]. Moreover, in 2019, Asia was home to more than half of the total number of undernourished people in the world (381 million) [4]. This is mainly because ASA regions face several natural and human challenges including, but not limited to, irregularities in climatic conditions and the impacts of conflict or political instability [14; 15; 16; 17]. A combination of these factors contributes to an increase in resource or food security vulnerabilities that are poorly understood at varying geographic scales [18; 19; 20]. To monitor, understand and mitigate the impact of these factors on regional and global food security, reliable and timely information is needed by countries and decision-makers [21]. At the national scale, greater information is needed by agricultural decision-makers to support investment and policy decisions that could have potential implications for their country's food security. For example, several studies have assessed agricultural vulnerabilities, but most of these analyses were performed at the country level [22; 23; 24]. This is because crop databases are usually available at the country level, and information on finer spatial coverage cannot be obtained [25]. In addition, regional crop data are collected sparsely and available for only a limited period [26]. At sub-national (local) scales such information can include primary information on crop health status, spatial extent, crop type suitability and expected crop yield [27; 28]. Having such information in advance of harvest and at finer spatial resolution is essential to make decisions about how much food is to be stored, imported and exported and to make a general assessment of food losses in times of natural and anthropogenic crises [29]. Increasing local agricultural production is key to providing long-term food security for communities [30]. Maintaining food security requires frequent data for monitoring and assessment [31]. Generally, ground surveys are the most common approach for assessing food insecurity in rapid emergencies such as floods, droughs and conflict situations [32]. However, when access is restricted, or on-the-ground assessment is not possible due to insecurity issues, the World Food Programme (WFP) often uses mobile technology to reach vulnerable populations [33]. Ground surveys (or the use of mobile technologies) have several limitations: (i) it is expensive and time-consuming to collect ground data [34], (ii) surveys provide only a snapshot or cross-sectional assessment, (iii) the spatial extent of data collection is limited [34]. In addition, it can be challenging to forecast food security based on ground survey data accurately and efficiently at national or global scales due to then often vast spatial coverages and heterogeneity involved [34].