Raipur, Sep 23 The Chhattisgarh Food Department and Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology (CGCOST) on Wednesday signed an MoU to map and verify the area under paddy cultivation in the state using satellite imagery, remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies, an official said.
The initiative aims to make the assessment of the actual area under paddy cultivation in Chhattisgarh more accurate, scientific and technology-driven, he said.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Directorate of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection and CGCOST, an official statement said.
The initiative will help integrate the state’s paddy procurement system with modern technology and a data-driven mechanism. Better coordination among land records, digital crop surveys, GIS mapping and satellite-based crop verification is expected to improve the accuracy of paddy acreage assessment and strengthen transparency and reliability in the system, it said.
Under the agreement, special focus will be given to identifying and mapping agricultural land in areas covered under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and submergence areas where details are currently not available in a georeferenced format, the release said.
GIS-based polygon layers will be prepared for such agricultural areas to establish their digital geographical identity, it said.
Satellite imagery and remote sensing technology will then be used to assess the area under paddy cultivation in these locations, providing more accurate geospatial information on actual crop conditions and agricultural acreage in areas where digital verification based on conventional land records has posed practical difficulties, it said.
In other georeferenced agricultural areas of the state, the latitude and longitude coordinates of available land parcels will be matched with satellite imagery. This will enable technical verification of the presence of paddy crops on the concerned land parcels, it said.
The use of satellite imagery and GIS-based mapping will reduce dependence on manual assessment and facilitate systematic and scientific analysis of crop conditions across large geographical areas, the statement said.
The technical collaboration between the Food Directorate and CGCOST will also strengthen the geospatial foundation required for digital crop surveys in the state, it said.
The initiative will enable land-related digital information, crop surveys and satellite-based verification to be used in coordination with each other, providing a more reliable basis for future assessment of crop acreage and analysis of agricultural data, it said.
Accurate information on the actual area under paddy cultivation is important for the state’s extensive paddy procurement system, the statement said.
(PTI News)
