Centre talks to States on new mechanism to gather crop data

Sub : Schemes

Sec: Agri

Context:

Ahead of the nationwide implementation of the Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES), the Centre has convened a national conference with the States to discuss the improvement in crop production statistics.
The conference discussed the need for integrating cutting-edge technologies like remote sensing, geospatial analysis and artificial intelligence in generating crop production statistics through revamped FASAL scheme.

Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES):

DGCES has been initiated to calculate yield based on scientifically designed crop cutting experiments for all major crops across the country.
It will provide plot-level data with geotagged areas of crops and act as a single source of truth.

Revamped FASAL programme:

FASAL (Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agro-meteorology, and Land-based observations) programme was launched by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare in 2006.
The updated version leverages remote sensing technology to generate accurate crop maps and area estimations for 10 major crops.
The programme is currently operationalized by Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) with technology support from ISRO.
Nine crops are assessed under FASAL: Rice, Wheat, Tur, Rabi Pulses, Rapeseed & Mustard, Rabi Jowar, Cotton, Jute and Sugarcane.