Kisan (C(K)rop Insurance using Space technology And geoiNformatics) project launched

• This project will use satellite, drone-based imaging and other geospatial technology to get accurate data on crop yields and to access damage from natural calamities.
• Objective of KISAN – To fasten payment of crop insurance claims to farmers on the basis of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCE).
• KISAN will use Space Technology and geo-informatics i.e., GIS, GPS and Smartphone technology along with high resolution data from UAV/Drone based imaging for improvement in yield estimation and better planning of CCEs.
• This data will enable crop insurance companies to give proper compensation to affected farmers. The experiment will help develop index-based data for insurance companies.

The KISAN project will be implemented by Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), an attached Office of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, in collaboration with the following organisations :~

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Centres
• Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad
• National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad
• India Meteorological Department (IMD)
• Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security (CCAFS)
• State Agriculture Departments
• State Remote Sensing Centres

Union govt. also launched Hailstorm App, an Android App Designed by ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad to access large scale damage to crops due to hailstorms

Features of Hailstorm App are as follows:~

• This App will help real time data collection about hailstorm occurrences along with photographs and geographical coordinates i.e., longitude and latitude.
• Farmers by using this application on their smart phones can immediately send photos of their crop damage due to hailstorm to officials concerned for immediate relief.
• Photographs and locations of damaged crops can be uploaded on real-time to ISRO's Bhuvan server.

By: Vishal