TC Web Desk
Funded by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), crop production forecasting- FASAL Scheme (Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land-based observations) and CHAMAN (Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using geo-iNformatics) are proving extremely helpful for the Indian farmers. While FASAL is used for crop production forecasting, CHAMAN is for horticulture crops. Nine crops that are assessed under FASAL are rice, wheat, tur, rabi pulses, rapeseed & mustard, rabi jowar, cotton, jute, and sugarcane. The seven crops which are being assessed under CHAMAN project are potato, onion, tomato, chili, mango, banana, and citrus.
Currently, satellite remote sensing is being used for various operational applications under PMFBY, such as smart sampling for crop cutting experiments (CCEs), yield dispute resolution, and direct yield estimation. In addition to this, satellite based indices are used for drought assessment and other applications under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), crop intensification in rice fallow areas, and horticulture expansion in North-eastern states. In Kharif 2020-21, large-scale pilot studies were conducted for rice crops in 100 districts of 12 states by 8 agencies, which is being continued in Rabi 2020-21 for rice and wheat crops in 100 districts of 13 states. In addition, a request for Expression of Interest (EoI) has been floated for conducting pilot studies in non-cereal crops.
