The government will start a digital crop survey in 10 states during the kharif season.
According to information obtained by Deccan Era, the Center intends to implement a digitised crop survey in ten states beginning with the Kharif-2023 season.
Utilizing “Geo-Referenced maps” of the farming plots and remote sensing photos, the survey will collect data on the many types of crops sown by farmers on their fields through an automated method.
According to sources, the computerised crop survey will initially be implemented as a pilot project in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Gujarat. Later, it will be gradually implemented throughout the nation. Once fully operational, it will supplement the venerable crop area statistics collection system known as “patwari agency,” which is already in use in the majority of states.
In order to gather land use, irrigation, and crop area information, the patwari agency conducts a full survey (girdawari) of all fields (survey numbers) in a village throughout every crop season.
According to the sources, the proposed study will use “the most recent technical breakthroughs, including visual and sophisticated analytics, GIS-GPS Technologies, and AI/ML” to offer “near real-time” data on the crops seeded by farmers.
According to a source, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare wants to establish a reference application for the crop-sown survey as part of its digital agriculture activities. “States will begin georeferencing village maps within their respective states.”
States have already received satellite data from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), which is part of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), according to a source.
The source elaborated on the projected survey’s methodology, stating, “A crop registry including a list of all crops planted in India is now being compiled. The crop registry will serve as a single source of truth for standardising the collection of data during the digital crop survey.”
The crop registry will be able to capture single or multiple crop IDs for the same farmland plot during the same season, as well as the respective area of sowing and type of crops, such as intercrop, mixed crops, and single crop, according to a source, who added that linkage to Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geo-referenced Cadastral maps would enable users to reach the right farm and collect the correct data and images.
The connection to remote sensing and aerial image analysis tools can be utilised to cross-check data at a “bigger area level” with the reported and derived information from the field level, hence enabling better levels of accuracy. According to the source, the survey will also feature a mobile interface that will enable offline data capture on the field (farmland plot) where the crop is planted.
The source stated that the survey will create 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 centred on crops; easy verification, estimation, and settlement of crop insurance claims; assessment of cropping patterns for environmental impacts; and improvement of the market from the village to the national level.
