This course introduces how satellite data and Earth Observation (EO) technologies help monitor crops and support agriculture. Participants will learn about key remote sensing techniques, vegetation indices, and tools like Sen4Stat, which uses Copernicus data for tracking crop growth and land use. As the first session in the Crop Monitoring Training Series, this course builds a foundation for using EO in agriculture, preparing participants for more hands-on (Part II - May 2025; onsite) and advanced (Part III - July 2025; online) training in the next sessions.