RMSI Cropalytics, a Noida-based agri-tech start-up and subsidiary of geospatial and engineering solutions company RMSI, has launched what it calls the first village-level crop map in the country. The start-up focuses on advanced modeling, machine learning, and agri and meteorological domain expertise to provide detailed information and data analytics on agriculture.
Sown acreage at high resolution
The crop map shows the geolocation of sown acreage of the current cropping season in high resolution. Currently, crop acreages are estimated at the state or district level, but are not marked or verified on the map. The RMSI Cropalytics crop map will be updated at the village level every kharif and rabi season, covering paddy, soyabean, maize, sugarcane and wheat, a spokesman for the start-up told BusinessLine.
He quoted Roli Jindal, Co-Founder, as saying, “This is the outcome of years of technical research and the application of artificial intelligence to remote images. The map will be updated every season, covering major crops, allowing for more accurate acreage estimation by the village and sharper identification of agrarian distress,” Jindal added.
Overlaying of useful data
RMSI Cropalytics will provide end-to-end analytics solutions to decision makers in government, crop insurance, the agri-input sector, commodity trading and the social sector. It combines new age, scalable technologies for data collection such as satellite imagery, drone technology, mobile platforms and ground-level IoT sensors to develop models based on AI/ML, using advanced forecast techniques and predictive analysis. It makes the crop map actionable by overlaying useful data, including village boundaries, farm sizes, crop health, weather forecasts, yield estimates and land ownership. It enables accurate acreage estimation by villages and sharper identification of agrarian distress, as well as data-based decision-making on the deployment of resources, risk mitigation and procurement, the spokesman added.
Digital adoption by farms
The crop map will enable multiple agri-tech applications, including remote farm monitoring, weather risk management, crop/ pest detection and yield estimation, and expedite digital adoption in the agri-ecosystem. Parent company RMSI has three decades of expertise in geospatial analytics, integrating earth sciences, remote sensing and climate risk modeling, the spokesman said. It works extensively in the disaster management space by mapping key natural hazards, including floods, cyclones and earthquakes, and is a leading player in the mapping industry.