Govt launches digital crop survey in 12 States to create data on cultivation
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Govt launches digital crop survey in 12 States to create data on cultivation
Subject: Science and technology
Section: Space technology
Context:
- The Centre has launched a digital crop survey in 12 states on a pilot basis from the kharif (summer-sown) season of this year for better sowing data collection.
Details of the survey:
- The project aims “to create a single and verified source of truth about the crop sown data which is useful for accurate crop area estimation and development of various farmers centric solutions.
- DCS reference application has been developed as an open source, open standard and interoperable public good.
- The geo-referenced cadastral maps with Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) Technologies are used to ensure the farmland position.
- The 12 states selected for pilot on DCS are Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam and Telangana.
- The states have been selected based on the preparedness in respect of pre-requisite criteria for DCS i.e.geo-referencing of village map and digitised Record of Right (RoR) with ownership extent.
- The survey will help in creating visibility on-
- Accurate and transparent estimates of crops sown in states;
- Crop identification for improved production, crop grown area;
- Yield estimation from crop-sown data;
- Easy implementation of departmental schemes focused on crops;
- Easy verification, estimation and settlement of crop insurance claims;
- Assess cropping patterns for environmental impacts; and
- Improve market from the village to national levels.
Role of satellites in the survey:
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launchedResourcesat -2A,Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) – 1A (Earth Observation Satellite-04) in polar orbits and Indian National Satellite (INSAT) 3D, INSAT-3DR in geostationary orbits.
- These are aimed to provide data for:
- assessing total area under cultivation,
- damage from natural calamities,
- disease attacks,
- agro-met services across the country.
How is India Focusing on the Use of Geospatial Technology in Agriculture?
- The Government of India has taken several initiatives towards promoting digital agriculture. For example,
- The Remote Sensing Data Policy 2011, released by the Department of Space, mandates restricted public distribution of imagery sharper than 5.8-metre resolution.
- The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) set up a specialized organization Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) in 2012, with focus on enhancing satellite remote sensing and GIS technologies in crop estimation.
- In 2021, the government opened access to its geospatial data and mapping services for all Indian entities.
- The draft National Geospatial Policy 2021 of the Department of Science and Technology further discusses the methods to create, access, and use geospatial data.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing a new remote sensing policy, aiming to provide resolution data of up to 50 cm to all Indian organisations, including private companies.
- The satellite data (from Earth Observation Satellites like CARTOSAT) from National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), which comes under the ISRO, has already been made available to the states.