Analyze the role of satellite-based technologies in achieving climate-smart agriculture and food security in India.
15 marks · answer in 250 words · directive: Analyze
The core of a good answer
Satellite remote sensing, navigation and communication now underpin crop forecasting, drought assessment, insurance yield estimation and digital farm registries in India, helping farmers and the State adapt to climate risk and stabilise food supply, though gaps in resolution, ground truthing and farmer access limit their reach.
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What the question asks
Analyze asks you to break the role into parts and judge each. Cover the climate-smart agriculture pillars (productivity, adaptation, mitigation) and food security dimensions (availability, access, stability), tie each to named Indian programmes, and end with limitations.
Answer outline
Introduction
Climate-smart agriculture seeks higher productivity, resilience to climate shocks and lower emissions; satellites give India repeatable, large-area data on crops, soil, water and weather that ground surveys cannot.
Crop forecasting and food availability
- FASAL (Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agrometeorology and Land-based observations) gives pre-harvest production forecasts for major crops.
- Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), set up in 2012, operationalises ISRO's forecasting methods.
- CHAMAN (Phase I, 2012 to 2016) used geoinformatics to assess horticulture area and production.
- EOS-04 (RISAT-1A) C-band radar data, supplied free to MNCFC, is used for crop mapping.
Adaptation and risk management
- NADAMS (National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System) uses satellite indices to assess drought.
- YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System using Technology) under PMFBY applies technology-based yield estimation at Gram Panchayat level, rolled out for paddy and wheat from Kharif 2023.
- Crop intensification studies mapped rice fallows in six eastern States (2016 to 19) to target a second crop.
Digital public infrastructure
- Digital Agriculture Mission approved on 2 September 2024 with an outlay of Rs 2,817 crore: AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System and soil profile maps on a 1:10,000 scale.
- Krishi-DSS unifies remote sensing data on crops, soil, weather and water for decision making.
- NASA-ISRO NISAR, launched on 30 July 2025, carries L-band radar (for soil moisture) and S-band radar (for monitoring agriculture), and passes over the same locations twice every 12 days.
Limitations
- Fragmented small holdings need high resolution and strong ground truthing.
- Farmer access depends on extension services, connectivity and digital literacy.
- Data integration across Centre and States and timely advisories remain uneven.
Conclusion
Satellites have moved Indian agriculture from reactive to data-driven management; linking them with extension, insurance and markets is the key to making them deliver climate resilience and food security on the ground.
Examples and data to cite
- MNCFC set up in 2012 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- Digital Agriculture Mission, Cabinet approval 2 September 2024, Rs 2,817 crore (central share Rs 1,940 crore).
- NISAR launched on 30 July 2025 from Sriharikota on a GSLV rocket.
- YES-TECH under PMFBY for yield estimation.
- FASAL 2.0 yield estimation system running from 2024 to March 2029 (Lok Sabha reply, March 2026).
Facts to remember
- FASAL: Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agrometeorology and Land-based observations.
- NADAMS: National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System.
- CHAMAN: Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using geoiNformatics.
- AgriStack registries: Farmers' Registry, geo-referenced village maps, Crop Sown Registry.
- Soil profile mapping planned for about 142 million ha of agricultural land.
Where it sits in the syllabus
- GS1: Resources and industrial location
Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).