Tuesday, April 24, 2012

NCFC India to provide in-season crop forecasts





New Delhi, India: Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Government of India (GoI), inaugurated National Crop Forecast Centre (NCFC) in New Delhi. The centre will provide in-season forecasts for selected 11 major crops such as rice, wheat, sugarcane and maize. It will also assess drought situation in the country through latest technologies.

The centre, in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will also work towards preparing sub-district level drought assessment in the entire country, an official release stated. The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation prepares advance estimates of crop output through various technologies like remote sensing and GIS.

The ISRO through its programme the National Agriculture Drought Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS) provides data on drought assessment in various states during the monsoon season. The centre will help in integrating data from these sources and would also provide production forecasts of more crops.

It will coordinate the use of geomatics in cropping system, horticulture, soil and its health and estimation of damage due to natural calamities.

No comments:

Post a Comment