New Delhi | August 1, 2025 | SKY LINK TIMES
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has significantly ramped up the use of space technology in agriculture to improve efficiency, forecasting accuracy, and transparency for Indian farmers. This was informed by Shri Ramnath Thakur, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
As part of this initiative, the Ministry is leveraging remote sensing, satellite imagery, and geospatial tools for key activities such as:
🌾 FASAL Project: Crop Production Forecasting
The FASAL project (Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land-based observations) is providing early crop production forecasts for major crops such as:
- Rice, Wheat, Tur, Rapeseed & Mustard, Rabi Jowar, Cotton, Jute, Sugarcane, Soybean, Lentil, Gram
These forecasts support timely decision-making for procurement, pricing, and food security.
💧 Drought Monitoring via Geoportal
In collaboration with Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad, the Ministry has developed a drought monitoring geoportal that integrates:
- Rainfall data
- Soil moisture levels
- Remote sensing-based crop health
- Water storage metrics
This portal helps policymakers take proactive drought mitigation steps.
🌐 Support for PMFBY: Insurance with Tech
Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), space-based tools are being applied for:
- Smart Sampling for Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs)
- Yield estimation at micro levels
- Dispute resolution based on area and yield estimates
📊 Krishi-DSS: Cloud-Based Decision Support
The Ministry has also launched Krishi-DSS, a cloud-based geospatial decision support system. It includes:
- Weather data
- Satellite images
- Soil and water resource layers
- Field-specific information
Krishi-DSS offers various AI-based modules to help in agricultural decision-making, risk mitigation, and resource management.
Also Read : Tripura Push for Increasing Farmers Income and Food Self-Sufficiency (skylinktimes.in)
🚁 YESTECH Initiative: Tech-Driven Yield Estimation
Between 2019 and 2023, the government conducted pilot studies using:
- Satellites
- UAVs (Drones)
- Simulation models
- AI/ML algorithms
These technologies were used for Gram Panchayat-level yield estimation. Based on successful pilot findings, the YESTECH (Yield Estimation System using Technology) initiative was rolled out:
- For paddy and wheat from Kharif 2023
- For soybean from Kharif 2024
This enables timely and transparent insurance claim settlement for farmers under PMFBY.
“The adoption of space-based technology ensures transparency, accountability, and efficiency in supporting farmers’ welfare,” said Minister Thakur.
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