Potential Applications: (i) Estimating actual acreage-sown at the insurance unit level to check the discrepancy of ‘over-insurance’ (acreage insured higher than acreage sown). (ii) Investigating anomalies / discrepancies in acreage-sown, through ground surveys using the Global Positioning Systems (GPS). (iii) Monitoring crop health through the crop season, and investigation on ground for advance intimation of yield losses. (iv) Investigating satellite derived crop areas and those from crop cutting experiments, to check adequacy and reliability of data. (v) Developing satellite based crop productivity models for cereals and other crops. (vi) Developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) of defined area of insurance unit for user-friendly viewing, querying and analysis of the agricultural situation. (vii) Use of RST applications, as a trigger to facilitate early claim settlements. (viii) GIS for office operations of crop insurance. The Group is of the view, that these are some of the useful applications of remote sensing technology, in crop insurance. Remote sensing technology applications, could also be of use in finalizing ‘on-account’ settlement of crop insurance claims, within the season. Finally, RST alone can make the switch over from an area approach, to farm level yield estimation. This should be possible, in the not too distant future in India. The Working Group recommends that a pilot project on using remote sensing technology in crop insurance, should be undertaken up by AIC from the Kharif 2007 season onwards. The areas for the pilot project may include: (a) Acreage estimation (b) Crop health reports (c) Yield modeling (d) Reduction of sample size of CCEs (e) Remote Sensing data as proxy indicators, for finalizing quantum of ‘on-account’ indemnity, under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)
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