The Centre has launched a pilot project called Digital Crop Survey (DCS) in 12 States during the kharif season to establish a reliable and verified source of data on crop cultivation.
The DCS reference application has been developed as an open-source, open-standard, and inter-operable public good, utilizing Geo-referenced cadastral maps with Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies to ensure accurate farmland positioning.
The selected States for the DCS pilot include Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Assam. These States were chosen based on their readiness to meet pre-requisite criteria for DCS, such as geo-referencing of village maps and digitized Record of Rights (RoR) with ownership extent.
The primary objectives of the project are to create a reliable and verified source of "crop sown data" to facilitate accurate crop area estimation and the development of farmer-centric solutions. This is particularly crucial given the country's current challenges with wheat and rice supply shortages, despite estimates of record production.
Regarding the impact of climate change on crop yields, the Minister highlighted that rainfed rice, wheat, kharif maize, and mustard are among the most vulnerable crops. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research's (ICAR) network project on National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) conducted a climate vulnerability analysis and projected significant reductions in crop yields. By 2050 and 2080, the projected reduction in crop yield could be 20% and 47%, respectively, for rainfed rice, 19.3% and 40% for wheat, 18% and 23% for Kharif maize, and 7.9% and 15% for mustard.
Based on the framework of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), ICAR identified 109 districts in the 'very high' risk category and 201 districts in the 'high' risk category under the NICRA network project. This emphasizes the need for climate-resilient agricultural practices to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on crop yields in vulnerable regions.
