Sven Gilliams earned an MSc degree in agricultural engineering in Land and Forest Management for his research on spectral signatures for the assessment of biomass indicators. He’s also worked on research projects investigating the use of remote sensing for forest management, designing policies for afforestation projects, and developing a spatial decision support system integrating multi-criteria analysis with GIS. This system provides data on carbon sequestration, nitrate leaching and ground water recharge for afforestation projects.

Monitoring of agriculture around the world is crucial for feeding the growing population.

In 2005, Sven joined the VITO Agriculture R&D Unit, working on the GMFS project. His main responsibilities were medium resolution agricultural monitoring; the development of low- and medium-resolution-based early warning services, and providing support for the UN FAO, UN WFP and CFSAM.

Sven has served as project leader on several major projects, and as coordinator of the Africa portfolio. At present, he is the team leader of the Agricultural Applications group, a team of 10 experts working on agricultural projects ranging from global agricultural monitoring to local precision farming.