MNCFC Uses Satellites for Pre-Harvest Crop Estimates
New Delhi, December 3 : Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) is producing satellite-based pre-harvest crop production estimates for 11 major crops under the Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agrometeorology and Land-based Observations (FASAL) programme. The crops covered include paddy, wheat, jute, cotton, sugarcane, soybean, tur, gram, mustard, lentil and rabi sorghum.
Using multispectral and microwave satellite data, the programme enables detailed crop mapping, while weather data and satellite-based indices support yield estimation through Weather-based and Remote Sensing models. Currently, FASAL covers 20 states and 557 districts across the country.
State-wise participation includes: Andhra Pradesh (26 districts), Assam (33), Bihar (38), Chhattisgarh (33), Gujarat (29), Haryana (22), Himachal Pradesh (7), Jharkhand (24), Karnataka (22), Kerala (2), Madhya Pradesh (52), Maharashtra (29), Odisha (30), Punjab (22), Rajasthan (32), Tamil Nadu (21), Telangana (32), Uttar Pradesh (75), Uttarakhand (7) and West Bengal (21).
Satellite inputs are also being used under the PMFBY scheme for planning Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs), Gram Panchayat-level yield estimation for paddy, wheat and soybean under the YESTech system, and for addressing yield and area discrepancy issues.
The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, along with MNCFC, is working with ISRO to generate operational crop yield estimates using a Semi-Physical model. ISRO centres are also supporting research and development to expand assessment to additional crops.
State agriculture departments are providing essential ground data required to train crop-mapping models under the FASAL programme.
The information was shared by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Ramnath Thakur, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
