Parliament Question: Space-Based Initiatives for Agriculture

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF SPACE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4168 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026 SPACE-BASED INITIATIVES FOR AGRICULTURE

4168. SHRI TATKARE SUNIL DATTATREY:

SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

(a) the details of major initiatives and programmes undertaken by the Department of Space to support and improve the agriculture sector in the country along with their objectives, timelines, financial outlays and current status of implementation;

(b) whether space-based technologies, satellite data services and decision-support systems have been developed or deployed for crop monitoring, yield estimation, weather advisory and resource management and if so, the details thereof along with the manner in which these integrated with Central and State agencies;

(c) the measurable and expected impact of these initiatives/interventions on crop productivity, farmers’ income, agricultural planning and forecasting and rural development; and(d) whether any evaluation studies or impact assessments have been conducted in this regard and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

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(a) The ISRO/DoS has undertaken several space-based programmes to support the agriculture sector. Major initiatives include the Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agrometeorology and Land-based observations (FASAL) programme, National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS), Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using Geoinformatics (CHAMAN) programme, Space technology Utilization for Food security AgricuLtural Assessment and Monitoring (SUFALAM) project, and various collaborative programmes with State and other agencies.

Details of some of the recent projects are given in Annexure-I.

(b) ISRO/DoS has developed and contributed in development of techniques & tools for crop monitoring, yield estimation and resources management. Details of recent techniques & tools

developed are as follows:  Crop monitoring: An AI-based crop mapping tool named ‘SASYA’ has been developed for C-band SAR from EOS-04 (RISAT-1A) and integrated into BHOONIDHI geo-portal of NRSC/ISRO. This toolhas been made open to operational agencies, including MNCFC, DoA&FW.

 Agricultural productivity and Yield Estimation: ISRO/DoS has developed a Smart sampling technique for improving the Crop Cutting Experiment (CCE) locations to improve the crop yield estimation under Yield Estimation System based on Technology (YES-TECH) initiative of PMFBY. Further, ISRO/DoS has contributed in development of crop yield simulation models including semi-physical model and machine learning based model to reduce the dependence on manual CCEs in the process of crop insurance payouts under PMFBY. These techniques are transferred to MNCFC, DoA&FW for operational implementation.

 Yield Estimation: ISRO/DoS has developed an automated geospatial crop estimation system (GeoCrEST) for crop yield estimation. The GeoCrEST system is operationally implemented on VEDAS geoportal of ISRO for the utilisation by MoA&FW.

 Drought Assessment and Monitoring: ISRO/DoS in collaboration with the MoA&FW and State agencies has developed National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System

(NADAMS). The drought assessment and monitoring system is transferred to MNCFC, DoA&FW for operational implementation.  Satellite Data-service: As per Indian Space Policy-2023 the remote sensing data from Indian satellite missions is made open and free for all government users. Further, remote sensing data coarser than 5m spatial resolution is provided free and open to all users.ISRO/DoS is providing the free services of C-band SAR data of EOS-04 missions to MNCFC, DoA&FW for operational crop mapping. Further, high-resolution satellite imagery for 13 States were provided, as part of the Agristack Project, to strengthen digital infrastructure in agriculture.

 Natural Resource Management: As part of the National Agricultural Land Use Mapping programme, annual (1:250K) and quinquennial (1:50K) and decadal (1:10K) land cover and land use datasets for land use planning, food security, and environmental assessments are being generated by ISRO/DoS to support the natural resource management activities in the country.

 Value-added agro-meteorological products: ISRO/DoS operationally generates and disseminates through VEDAS geoportal (vedas.sac.gov.in), seven value-added agro- meteorological products to six Agro-Meteorological Field Units

(AMFUs) covering more than 85 districts and 500 blocks under Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva (GKMS).

(c) The use of space-based agricultural monitoring systems has shown

positive impact in terms of:  Improved estimation of crop acreage and production  Identification of suitable areas for crop and horticulture expansion  Agriculture drought monitoring for timely reporting  Improved risk assessment and claim settlement in crop insurance through objective satellite-based methodologies. Space technology intervention in YES-TECH of PMFBY led to decrease in premium rate from 17% to 12%. Moreover, the claims of more number of farmers were settled using space technology blend than with only CCEs, especially under natural calamities. The YES-TECH system also brought transparency in claim settlement through evidence-based decision making.

(d) Evaluation and validation studies are periodically carried out for various space-based agricultural applications in collaboration with the MoA&FW, State Governments, and Research Institutions. These include accuracy assessments of crop acreage and validation of satellite-based yield estimates.

A socio-economic survey in Parbhani, Maharashtra conducted by Space Applications Centre, ISRO for Kharif season of 2022-23 showed the usage of satellite products in the advisory improved the productivity soybean and cotton farms by 2-5% with reduction of input cost by 5-10%.

****Annexure-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4168 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 SPACE-BASED INITIATIVES FOR AGRICULTURE Project Information Status

Title: Crop Intensification Completed

Objectives: Mapping rice fallow in six eastern states

Timeline: 2016-19

Financial Outlay: 112 Lakhs funded by MoAFW

Title: CHAMAN (Coordinated Horticulture Completed Assessment and Management using Geoinformatics)

Objectives: Satellite based estimation of area of major horticultural crops in selected districts.

Timeline: Phase-I (2012–2016)

Financial Outlay: Implemented jointly with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare under programme funding.

Title: Bioenergy from Crop Residues (Remote Completed Sensing Based Assessment)

Objectives: Assessment of crop residue generation and spatial availability for bioenergy applications using satellite data and geospatial modelling.

Timeline: 2018-2021

Financial Outlay: 21 Lakhs, Funded by DST

Title: Crop Insurance Decision Support System – Currently Odisha operational at

Objectives: Development of geospatial decision support Odisha. tools for crop insurance including crop area mapping, smart sampling for CCEs and yield estimation support using satellite data.

Timeline: 2018–2020

Financial Outlay: Implemented through collaborative project funding with Government of Odisha.

Title: Crop Insurance Support– West Bengal Operational in

Objectives: Use of remote sensing and geospatial analytics West Bengal for crop area mapping, yield estimation support under Bango and composite yield index development to Sasya Beema strengthen crop insurance implementation. Yojna

Timeline: 2017-2021

Financial Outlay: Supported through collaborative project with Government of West Bengal.Project Information Status

Title: MahaAgriTech Project (Maharashtra) Operational

Objectives: Development of geospatial platform for decision support agricultural monitoring including crop mapping, system crop condition monitoring, yield assessment and developed; disaster impact assessment using satellite data satellite-based and analytics. crop information

Timeline: 2021- Ongoing. being generated

Financial Outlay: Implemented through collaborative project funding with Government of Maharashtra

Title: MP-AgriGIS (Madhya Pradesh) System under

Objectives: Development of a comprehensive geospatial operational agricultural information system including crop implementation mapping, sown area monitoring, yield estimation with generation and digital agriculture support for state-level of crop maps, planning. sown area

Timeline: 2023- Ongoing progression and

Financial Outlay: Implemented through collaborative project analytical funding with Government of Madhya Pradesh. products for the state.

Title: Space technology Utilization for Food Ongoing security AgricuLtural Assessment and Monitoring (SUFALAM Phase-II)

Objectives: Crop Production and Price Forecasting, Precision Agriculture, Value-Added Decision Support Systems for advisory and drought assessment

Timeline: December 2024 to November 2027

Financial Outlay: 15 Cr., Funded by DoS

Title: India Potato Crop Monitoring (IPCM) Ongoing

Objectives: To develop a geospatial India Potato Crop Monitoring System with a dashboard for automated potato yield estimation using the remote sensing and in-situ data.

Timeline: 2026 - March 2028

Financial Outlay: 258 Lakhs, Funded by MoA&FW

Title: National System for Geospatial Crop Yield Ongoing Estimation using Satellite Remote Sensing based Semi-Physical Model (FASAL 2.0)

Objectives: To develop a geospatial yield estimation system with a dashboard for automated crop yield estimation using the remote sensing based semi-physical model. Total number of targeted crops are 10.

Timeline: 2024- March 2029Project Information Status

Financial Outlay: 340.52 Lakhs funded by MoA&FW

Title: Applications of Space Techniques for Completed:

Agricultural Assessment in North Eastern winter Rice Region (ASAAN) acreage in NER

Objectives: Satellite-based crop acreage estimation and estimated during cropping pattern analysis, crop site-suitability 2022, 2023 & and fallow area mapping. 2024

Timeline: 2022–2025

Financial Outlay: 260 Lakhs, Funded by MoDONER/NEC.

Title: Space-based Support for Integrated Completed:

Development of Horticulture in NER (SSDIH) suitability

Objectives: Identification of suitable areas for expansion of analysis horticultural crops (across NER), site suitability completed for 52 of post-harvest infrastructure (priority districts), districts in NER.

geo-tagging of horticultural infrastructure (priority districts) and acreage estimation (priority crops and districts).

Timeline: 2022–2025

Financial Outlay: 240 Lakhs, Funded by MDoNER/NEC