The Centre unveiled a satellite-based geospatial platform, called the Krishi-Decision Support System (K-DSS) portal, which will provide farmers with useful information on the weather, groundwater levels, soil health, reservoir storage levels etc and will provide data like satellite images.

Bhagirath Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, unveiled the portal developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said that “will become a milestone in the journey of farmers in the country”.

The Krishi-DSS was launched during the National Conference on Space Driven Solutions for Agriculture Transformation in India organised by the agriculture ministry. The one-day conference is part of the events planned by the government in the run-up to the first National Space Day 2024, which will be observed on August 23, the first anniversary of India’s landing on the moon.

Devesh Chaturvedi, Agriculture Secretary, said that space technology can play a transformational role in the agriculture sector. Stressing the need for an early warning system for rainfall and lightning strikes, Chaturvedi said that satellite technology can play a big role in this. It can save loss of lives and properties, he said, adding that the government’s focus is on farmers, and the aim is to increase farmers’ income.

Meherda said that the ministry has taken several space technology-based initiatives like YES Tech and WINDS. It is in this direction that the ministry has also developed Krishi-DSS. Space technology and remote sensing-based solutions will contribute to ensuring India’s food security and making farmers prosperous, he added.

Whatever action plan comes out of discussions during the national conference, the agriculture ministry will take it forward, he said. He also asked Dr Pramod Kumar Meherda, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, to share a brief report on the outcome of the national conference so a future strategy can be formulated.

Nilesh M Desai, Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC), said that the engagement between the agriculture ministry and space sector goes back to 1969 when, for the first time, an experiment was undertaken to examine the disease in coconut plants using remote sensing techniques. Since then, he said, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched several satellites that are very useful for the agriculture sector.

“Even today, at 9.17 am, we launched the Microsat 2C satellite through the SSLV launcher”,  he said, adding that it has a Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) payload that provides information about soil moisture and wind speed, which will be very helpful for the agriculture sector.

The Krishi-DSS is part of the Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture said by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on July 23. The Krishi-DSS will function as a repository of standardized geospatial data on weather, soil, crop, reservoir, and groundwater data. It will also integrate data related to government schemes and services, an official said.

The vote of thanks delivered by Ruchika Gupta, Adviser (Agriculture Statistics), the programme attended by scientists, central and state government officials and industry representatives.