HYDERABAD: Research carried out by Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University (PJTAU) scientists has revealed that the average cropped area in the last Kharif season was 8 to 12 per cent less than the total cultivable area in the state. The university reached this conclusion based on satellite imagery covering the entire state.
Based on the research, PJTAU will submit a comprehensive report on crop area estimation for all districts to Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on February 6.
“Over the past few months, the university’s Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, in collaboration with SARMAP, a satellite image analysis organisation based in Switzerland, has been conducting an innovative project to estimate crop area in every village using satellite imagery. The results of the project were verified by agricultural field-level staff, and the accuracy was found to be around 90 per cent,” said Prof Aldas Janaiah, Vice Chancellor of PJTAU.
Except for about 870 revenue villages in the state for which maps are not available, satellite-based crop area estimation has been completed for all remaining villages. According to preliminary results, on average, the actual cropped area is 8–12 per cent less than the total cultivable area.
Elaborating on the benefits of this estimation, Janaiah added that it will help ensure that every farmer who has suffered losses receives crop insurance compensation, enable transparency and timely implementation in the procurement and purchase of agricultural produce, and ensure that various government schemes reach every eligible farmer.
According to officials from the Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, high-resolution images of Telangana are captured once every 12 days, and there are plans to extend the project to the Rabi season as well. “Not just estimating crop area, we will also conduct a crop-wise survey,” they said.