KISAN Project:
- The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare had launched KISAN [C(K)rop Insurance using Space technology and geoiNformatcs] project during 2015.
- The project envisaged use of high-resolution remote sensing data for optimum crop cutting experiment planning and improving yield estimation.
- Under this project, pilot studies were conducted in 4 districts of 4 States viz. Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
- The study provided many useful inputs [for smart sampling, yield estimation, optimum number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) etc.], in the revised guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY).
Other Measures taken to introduce Space Technology in Agriculture Sector:
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, since early 80s has been funding various projects, under which Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developed methodologies for Crop Production Forecasting.
- The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare established a Centre, called Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre, in 2012, for operationalisation of the space technology developed in the ISRO, for crop production forecasting.
- The Department has another centre called Soil and Land Use Survey of India, which uses satellite data for soil resources mapping.
- Currently, the Department is using space technology for its various programmes/ areas, such as,
- Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land-based Observations (FASAL) project,
- Coordinated programme on Horticulture Assessment and Management using geoiNformatics (CHAMAN) project,
- National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS),
- Geo tagging of infrastructure and assets created under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
Benefits:
- The space technology helps getting fast and unbiased information about the crop situation in the country.
- It provides digital data, which is amenable to various analysis. Because of its synoptic view, it provides images of the whole country in a very short duration.
- Hence, this data can be used for various programmes, which need information on crop type, crop area estimates, crop condition, crop damages, crop growth etc.
