Satellite technology can assist in precise monitoring of crops: Experts

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 23

Satellite technology can be beneficial for farming as it allows for precise monitoring of crops, thus leading to improved yields.

Accurate data and analysis can be crucial in predicting and minimising the effects of food shortages and famines. They can also help estimate a region’s agricultural output reasonably in advance. When it comes to a vast country like India, satellite technology can work wonders for the agriculture sector.

Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) organised a workshop on the benefits of satellite technology for improved farming in Punjab. Experts shared the benefits of satellite-based technology to improve farming and enhancing crop productivity.

Technology can help in optimising resource management

Geospatial technology is helping the famers to get weather data on their mobiles. This technology has immense potential in assessing soil health, crop mapping, yield forecasting, identifying potential agricultural zones management of water resources, and development of efficient agricultural marketing system. The use of digital technology can help the farmers in optimising resource use and output management, boosting agricultural production and reduce the crop input cost. — Ajit Balaji Joshi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare (PUNJAB)

Ajit Balaji Joshi, Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare during the seminar said that space technology provides effective decision-making tools for policy framework and day-to-day planning.

“Geospatial technology is helping the famers to get weather data on their mobiles. This technology has immense potential in assessing soil health, crop mapping, yield forecasting, identifying potential agricultural zones management of water resources, and development of efficient agricultural marketing system. The use of digital technology can help the farmers optimising resource use and output management, boosting agricultural production and reducing the crop input cost,” he said.

PRSC Director Dr Brijendra Pateriya, speaking on the occasion, said that Punjab’s agriculture can very well witness a paradigm shift in all aspects – land use, market forces, environmental factors and even the employment of labour force in the fields using geospatial technology.

“Digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence machine learning, remote sensing, big data, block chain and IoT are transforming agricultural value chains and modernising operations,” Dr Pateriya added.

Dr Jaswant Singh, Director, Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Government of Punjab emphasised the use to geospatial technology for sustainable agriculture management in Punjab. Various new initiatives like precision irrigation using IoT sensors, assessment of crop yield using satellite data and machine learning have been taken on pilot scale by his department.

Dr K B Singh, Director, PAMETI further said that technological interventions based on remote sensing, soil sensors, unmanned aerial surveying and market insights may permit farmers to gather, visualise and assess crop and soil health conditions at different stages of production.

Pilot project by govt

Dr Jaswant Singh, Director, Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, emphasised the use to geospatial technology for sustainable agriculture management in Punjab. Initiatives like precision irrigation using IoT sensors, assessment of crop yield using satellite data and machine learning have been taken on pilot scale by his department.

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