Lok Sabha Question No. 2347 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-03
Subject: Crop Production Forecasting
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: C.N. Annadurai, Gautham Sigamani Pon, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Ganesan Selvam, Dhanush M Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2347

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 3 RD  AUGUST, 2021

## CROP PRODUCTION FORECASTING

2347. SHRI C.N. ANNADURAI:

SHRI GAUTHAM SIGAMANI PON:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

SHRI SELVAM G:

SHRI DHANUSH M. KUMAR:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Ministry  has  been  funding  various  projects  under  which  Indian Space  Research  Organisation  developed  methodologies  for  Crop  Production Forecasting;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the benefit that the agriculture sector will get out of using space technology;
- (d) the areas identified by the Government for using space technology in agriculture sector;
- (e)  whether the  Mahalanobis National Crop  Forecast Centre (MNCFC) which has launched a project called KISAN using space technology for better yield estimation has achieved the objective for which it was launched;
- (f) if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) the further steps being taken by the Government for use of space technology in agriculture and allied sectors for the betterment of farmers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a)    to  (b)  :  Yes,  Sir.  The  Ministry  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers'  Welfare  is  funding various  projects  for  Crop  Production  Forecasting,  which  includes  FASAL  Scheme (Forecasting  Agricultural  output  using  Space,  Agro-meteorology  and  Land  based observations) and CHAMAN (Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using geo-iNformatics).

FASAL is used for crop production forecasting of field crops while CHAMAN is for horticulture crops. In both the projects, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has  played  a  major  role  in  developing  methodologies.  However,  currently  the programmes  are  being  operationalized  by  Mahalanobis  National  Crop  Forecast Centre (MNCFC) of Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, with technology support from ISRO.

Nine crops which 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, Chilli, Mango, Banana and Citrus.

(c)  :  The  Government is using satellite  based  estimates for  planning and decision making purposes with respect to storage, pricing and import/export. In addition to this  satellite  based  indices  are  used  for  drought  assessment  and  satellite  data  is also being used for various applications under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY),  Crop  Intensification  in  Rice  fallow  areas  and  horticulture  expansion  in North-eastern States.

(d) : The Government has identified various advanced technologies which includes Space  and  Geo-spatial  technology  as  one  of  the  major  technologies.  Areas identified for space technology applications are crop estimation, drought assessment,  horticulture  development,  crop  insurance,  pest  &  disease  impact assessment,  crop  loss  assessment,  soil  resource  mapping,  crop  intensification, precision farming, sustainable agriculture and climate change impact on agriculture.

(e) & (f) : The KISAN project launched by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare carried out various pilot studies for evaluating the role of satellite technology in crop yield estimation. Based on these studies and many consequent pilot studies carried out by the Ministry, currently, the 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.  The PMFBY guidelines have devised SoPs for use of satellite data for various aspects of crop insurance.

(g)  :  The  Government  of  India  proposes  to  migrate  to  technology  based  yield estimation  from  the  conventional  CCE  based  yield  estimation.  Towards  this,  the Government is conducting large-scale pilot studies by engaging various agencies. During Kharif 2019, pilot studies were conducted by 13 agencies in 64 districts of 15 States  for  9  crops  which  were  validated  during  Rabi  2019-20  in  15  blocks  of  6 States.

In Kharif 2020, large-scale pilot studies were conducted for Rice crop in 100 districts of 12 States by 8 agencies, which is being continued in Rabi 2020-21 for Rice and Wheat  crop  in  100  districts  of  13  states.  In  addition,  request  for  Expression  of Interest (EoI) has been floated for conducting pilot studies in non-cereal crops.

Government  of  India  have  also  rolled  out  smart  sampling  for  Rice,  Wheat,  Rabi Jowar, and Rapeseed and Mustard crops during last 4 seasons.

Protocols have also been prepared for Two-Step Yield Estimation where technology will be used initially for loss categorization and then more CCEs will be conducted in 'moderate' or 'severe' areas and less CCEs will be conducted in 'mild' or 'normal' areas.

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