Crops & cosmos

Scientists are of the view that the future of the world will be controlled by space technology. Economists are predicting the use of space technology in various sectors of the economy i.e., agriculture, industry, and services. They believe proper application of this technology can increase economic growth manifold, as indicated in an economic study in England in 2019. A study by the European Space Agency on the other hand revealed that £1 invested in space technology in England returns £10 to the economy. That is, it can be assumed that the return to the national economy of a country would be several times more than the money invested by it in space technology. According to a report published by Morgan Stanley in 2020, the current size of the space economy is USD 36 billion, which will expand to USD 110 billion by the end of 2040. If space technology can be effectively applied in agriculture, then crop diseases and insect attacks can be easily detected and remedial measures taken immediately. Consequently, pre-harvest wastage can be prevented, resulting in significant increase in production. Additionally, this technology has the potential to lower the cost of farming by reducing the use of fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture. Its impact is expected to range from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to water use in agriculture.

Climate-smart agriculture

According to the 'Global Food Policy Report 2022', the rise in global average temperature due to climate change has reduced the production of all crops. This has been a grave concern for policymakers. Protecting agricultural production from this grave impact and ensuring food security for large global populations is the biggest challenge at the moment. Agronomists are advocating 'Climate Smart Agriculture' or 'CSA’ to save agriculture from the dangers of climate change. The use of space technology in this case has the capability to provide innovative insights and new directions in areas ranging from adoption of precision agriculture methods to crop monitoring. This is expected to increase crop production to combat the food crisis.

Water, fertilisers and pesticides

The World Economic Forum in collaboration with McKinsey has shown that the use of space technology in agriculture has increased food and water security and is helping to resolve climate change issues. The impact of this technology has also been significant in increasing agricultural production as well as farmers' income. Several reports on the use of space technology in agriculture suggest that early detection of pest infestations with help of hyper-spectral and optical satellite imagery has been successful in combating them. As a result, it has been possible to save 80 million tons of crops annually all over the world. According to the data from 'Food and Agriculture Organisation’, this crop protection has generated additional crop income for farmers around the world to the extent of 15-17 thousand billion dollars. Use of space technology will also reduce the application of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture. This will reduce the production cost of agriculture by up-to 5 per cent. The financial value of this cost savings is 7-8 billion dollars. However, not only will there be monetary savings but it will also reduce 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Agriculture is considered to be the primary contributor of greenhouse gases in the world. The use of space technology is expected to stop this strong allegation.

Another important fact is that almost two-thirds of the world's total groundwater is used for agriculture. Satellite irrigation systems can reduce this water use in agriculture by 5-10 per cent, thereby saving around 280 crore litres of fresh water.

Portrayals of India

Agriculture contributes about 20 per cent to India's GDP. More than half of India’s population earn their living from agriculture. Hence, India's Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has been allocating funds for the use of space technology in agriculture since the early eighties. It has mainly been limited to crop production forecasting using remote sensing data, drought monitoring and assessment, geo-tagging of agricultural resources, and developing different modes of crop insurance. Since the work that has been done is not very organised, there has been no notable success in use of space technology in agriculture. Nonetheless, in Indian agriculture, 1.09 quintals per hectare of rice is lost before harvest due to crop diseases and insect attacks, while in case of wheat it is 0.59 quintals per hectare. It is estimated that the annual wastage of paddy is about 25 per cent of the total production and for wheat about 15 per cent of the total production. In aggregation, the total loss of paddy and wheat is about 9.5 million tons. This huge amount of wastage puts pressure on the food supply, which tantamount to equally big financial loss. In current times, this can be easily prevented by using space technology. Apart from this, freshwater consumption in Indian agriculture is 50 per cent of the total water use, while excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides results in agriculture contributing 18 per cent of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The use of space technology can greatly reduce these amounts. That is, on the one hand, water will be saved, on the other, environmental pollution will be reduced.

Positive Initiative

There is hope, as in India, Pixel, a private space data company, has used hyper-spectral earth imaging satellites and analytical tools to accurately benchmark crop nutrients. This is helping in checking crop health, predicting pest attacks and detecting crop diseases before they become serious. The government has also been proactive in using space technology in agriculture by leveraging non-governmental organisations. Further, in this work, the formation of agricultural start-ups has been emphasised to strengthen the initiative of private companies. A 'seed fund' scheme was announced last April to provide seed money to start-ups, which will speed up their operations and bring the benefits of the projects to the farmers. Two start-ups named 'MISTEO' and 'ARMS4AI' have already been nominated for funding. The first of these will work towards climate-resilient agriculture. The other will use a geo-Al platform to monitor crop health and make decisions through holistic review. The work of these organisations will be overseen by an autonomous agency of the Government's Ministry of Space, 'IN-SPACE’ or the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre.

In-SPACE seeks to usher in a new era in the Indian economy by harnessing space technology to develop sustainable agriculture. Its main function is to encourage, promote and regulate the use of space technology. In-SPACE has not only provided funding for the use of space technology in agriculture but has also organised workshops on the application of this technology to solve agricultural problems. ISRO, with the help of National Skill Development Co-Operation and several private organisations, organised a short course on 'Use of Space Technology in Agriculture’ from November 20-24 last year.

The use of space technology in agriculture is essential today to improve agricultural practices, empower farmers and above all build sustainable agricultural systems. There is no room for debate on this. Now it’s time to see whether the combination of space technology with the challenges and opportunities of Indian agriculture can provide the country a new path in the future.

Views expressed are personal