To fasten payment of crop insurance claims to farmers, the Centre on Monday launched a pilot programme Kisan, which will use satellite and drone-based imaging and other geospatial technology to get timely and accurate data on crop yields. Payment of crop insurance claims is done on the basis of crop cutting experiments and the government was concerned over the delays in settlements.
Also to access large-scale damage to standing crops, it launched an Android-based app for collection of data of hailstorm. The app will be used by state agriculture officials and the data will help the Union Agriculture Ministry in having very fast assessment of damage to crops because of hailstorm.
“The crop insurance claim is calculated on the basis of crop cutting experiments. However, there has always been a problem in getting timely and accurate data, due to which payment of claims to farmers were getting delayed. A new programme
Kisan is being launched on a pilot basis to address this issue,” Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan told reporters. Initially, the pilot study will be carried out in rice and cotton fields in four districts during the ongoing Kharif season in Karnataka (Shimoga district), Maharastra (Yavatmal), Haryana (<g data-gr-id="31">Kurkshetra</g>) and Madhya Pradesh (Seoni), he said.
It will also be carried out during the 2015-16 rabi season in eight districts in same states to assess the crop yields of rice, wheat and <g data-gr-id="29">shorghum</g>, the minister said adding that <g data-gr-id="30">the the</g> programme will be scaled up across the country after assessing the results.
The programme envisages use of high resolution remote sensing data both from satellite and drone-based imaging, sophisticated modelling activity and other geospatial technology for improving the accuracy of crop yield estimation through more efficient crop cutting experiments. Block level yield estimation and development of a new index based insurance approach, using remote sensing data are also envisaged under the project.
The programme will be jointly conducted by Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, India Meteorological Department, State Agriculture Departments and Remote Sensing Centres, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). On hailstorm app, the <g data-gr-id="27">minsiter</g> said, “Hailstorms cause large scale damage to standing crops. However, at present, there is no comprehensive approach to collect hailstorm data. To overcome this, an Android app has been developed with the support of ISRO.” The app can be used through smartphones for collection of hailstorm data along with photographs and locations and can be uploaded on real-time to ISRO’s Bhuvan server.
MMTC invites global bids for <g data-gr-id="72">1,000-tonne <g data-gr-id="73">gram</g></g> imports
With pulses prices skyrocketing, state-owned MMTC has invited global bids for import of 1,000 tonnes of chickpeas (gram) from Australia.
Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC), which is importing 5,000 tonnes each of tur and urad on behalf of the government, has tendered for chickpeas import on its own to boost domestic supply and check prices. As per the tender, the shipment of chickpeas should reach Kolkata by the end of this month. The price should be quoted in US dollar and the latest crop of chickpeas should be imported from Australia. Bids should be submitted by October 13 and the decision on it would be taken on the same day. The import quantity can be raised depending on the rates quoted, MMTC said. As per the data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry, retail prices of all varieties of pulses -- gram, tur, urad, moong and masoor dal -- have risen by up to 75 per cent in the last one year, costing over Rs 100 per kg.
Pulses production is estimated to have come down to 17.20 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June) from 19.25 million tonnes in the previous crop year due to deficient monsoon last year and unseasonal rains. India, the world’s biggest pulses importer, purchased 4.58 million tonnes of pulses in the 2014-15 fiscal from the overseas market as against 3.17 million tonnes in the previous year.