Manoj Ahuja Chairs Meeting to Transform MNCFC into a Centre of Excellence in Geo-Spatial Technology Utilization in Agri Sector

The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has always emphasized the use of technology for the benefit of the agriculture sector and farmers. The Central Government has launched a number of initiatives to promote digital agriculture. In 2012, the Agriculture Ministry established the 'Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC)' as an attached Office of DA&FW, with the goal of improving crop estimation using satellite remote sensing and GIS technologies. Given recent advancements in geospatial technology, DA&FW has identified the need to scale up technology solutions for agricultural decision support.

Under the chairmanship of Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, DA&FW, the first meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee for strengthening and transforming MNCFC into a Centre of excellence in the field of geospatial technology applications was held in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by experts from ISROCentres, the International Rice Research Institute, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and senior DA&FW officials.

Ahuja emphasized the importance of increasing the use of satellites, drones, smartphones, and AI/ML techniques to develop scientific information products and services for informed decision-making by multiple stakeholders in agriculture. Dr. Shailesh Naik, Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru and former Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, praised the current initiative to upgrade the MNCFC as a major technology hub and advised participating in global crop surveillance initiatives.

Following deliberations, the committee's major recommendations included the adoption of new technologies and data products, the use of data from the recently launched Indian microwave satellite RISAT-1A, the use of bio-physical products, the improved use of AI and ML techniques for automated crop mapping, crop health monitoring, and crop yield estimation, and collaborations with national, international, private, and start-up organizations.

The Committee also discussed developing a national framework at MNCFC for all scalable technology solutions in order to standardize methodologies and enable these solutions to be mainstreamed into decision-making processes. Crop surveillance and estimations, disaster risk reduction in agriculture, farmer-centric services - weather, pest/disease surveillance advisory, nutrient management advisory and Agro-forestry decision support, and Environment & Energy are among the major themes for developing such national initiatives.

Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, emphasized the importance of extending satellite-based assessments to the horticulture sector by pooling the data and expertise currently available in the Ministry's and ICAR's existing projects and schemes. Pramod Kumar Meherda, JS (Digital Agriculture), expressed hope that with the support of technology agencies such as ISRO, MNCFC would be fully prepared to reap the full benefits of digital technologies in the agriculture sector.