This study explores the potential of indicators derived from Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to integrate and enhance TAPE (Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation), a questionnaire-based tool developed by FAO to measure the performance of agroecological systems at the household and farm level. Focusing on a case study in Northern Ethiopia, the report provides an overview of existing spatial datasets suitable for supporting TAPE at different scales (landscape and farm-level assessments). It identifies potentials and areas where further research is needed.

The analysis shows that several currently available and ready-to-use datasets can be utilised to measure, with relatively low effort, two characteristics of agro-ecosystems associated with more environmentally friendly farming approaches: spatial heterogeneity and connectivity. The former refers to the qualitative or quantitative variation of landscape elements and land covers, while the latter measures how the spatial arrangement of landscape features (e.g., trees, hedgerows, field margins) can facilitate the mobility of beneficial insects and other animals across agricultural landscapes.

The measurement of other indicators, such as crop diversity, crop richness, or tree diversity, would require ad-hoc analysis and the use of very high-resolution imagery or maps, which are currently not readily available in many African countries. Overall, the review concludes that available global datasets at a coarse scale can be used for landscape-level assessments, while options for assessing agroecological performance at a fine scale are currently limited. However, the field is rapidly expanding, with new high-resolution datasets being produced and made available, as well as new computational methods, which can enhance analytical capabilities in the near future.

Finally, the study recommends that TAPE operators collect farm polygons during field campaigns, as these are essential for leveraging the potential of remote sensing and GIS for TAPE assessments.