Workshop Objectives
South/Southeast Asian countries are growing rapidly in terms of population, industrialization and urbanization. One of the key challenges in the region is food security. Although the total food production has increased in the region because of additional land area converted to agricultural land use during 1960’s till 2000, the food production in the recent times has slowed down mostly due to loss of agricultural lands related to increasing urbanization and industrialization. Further, the weather and climate systems in the region are driven primarily by monsoon variability and extreme weather events resulting in droughts or flooding can impact agricultural production. In the region, monitoring the agricultural crop production in a timely manner is essential to predict and prepare for disruptions in the food supply. Further, improved and up-to-date information on agricultural land cover and associated land use practices can help in understanding the role and response of the agricultural sector to environmental change issues for improved management purposes.
Despite the progress in remote sensing and geospatial technologies, little emphasis has been placed on developing robust methods for operational mapping/monitoring of cropped areas. In most of countries in South/Southeast Asia, the mapping efforts have focused on the classification of land cover types and generalize cropland areas into a single or limited number of thematic classes. Crop-related LULC information is currently limited to very few countries in South/Southeast Asia. In the region, there is an urgent need to enhance national and regional operational systems for monitoring of agricultural crops. Transitioning appropriate methods developed in the research domain into operational systems is a challenge for all countries but can provide improvements in timely and valuable information for agricultural production, management and policy-making useful to address food security issues.
The aim of this workshop is to review the availability, potential and limitations of different remote sensing data sources and methodologies for agricultural applications in South/Southeast Asia. The workshop presentations will focus on synergies among various approaches and provide recommendations on how to improve the role of earth observations, ground data and modeling techniques to map and monitor crop growth parameters in space and time. The workshop will bring together experts from both developed and developing countries to identify data gaps and needs related to operational mapping/monitoring of cropped areas in the South/Southeast Asia region. In addition, important agricultural application topics relating to remote sensing of agriculture i.e., crop identification and crop phenology/growth mapping/monitoring, yield estimation/prediction, key biophysical, biochemical and environmental parameters governing crop production, crop damage/disaster monitoring, precision farming, crop residue management, etc., will be discussed.
The workshop will provide a forum to interact with South/Southeast Asia researchers involved in the SARI (South/Southeast Asia Research Initiative) and other international programs including GEOGLAM, SERVIR, NASA LCLUC, GOFC-GOLD, GLP, etc. Important needs and priorities for developing remote sensing-based operational crop mapping/monitoring systems in South/Southeast Asian countries will be identified involving agricultural experts from the above international programs, researchers from the national space and agrciultgural agencies and local Universities.
Workshop Venue: Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Sec 16C, New Delhi 110078, India
International Steering Committee
Dr. Krishna Prasad Vadrevu, Remote Sensing Scientist, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, Phone: 256-321-9492; and Adjunct Associate Professor, Dept. of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park, USA; Email: krisvkp@umd.edu
Dr. Chris Justice, Professor, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), NASA LCLUC Project Scientist, the GEOGLAM Program, 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 400, College Park, Maryland, 20740, USA, Phone: 301.405.4050; Email: cjustice@umd.edu
Dr. Rama Nemani, Senior Earth Scientist, Ecological Forecasting Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 242-4, Moffett Field, CA 94035, Phone: (650) 604-6185;
Email: rama.nemani@nasa.gov
Dr. Thenkabail Prasad, Research Geographer, U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2255, N. Gemini Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA, Phone: 928-556-7221 (land); 928-380-9965 (cell); Email: pthenkabail@usgs.gov
Dr. Ruth DeFries, Professor of Sustainable Development, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology (E3B), Columbia University, 10th Floor Schermerhorn Ext., 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027; Phone: 212-851-1647; Email: rd2402@col.umbia.edu
Local Steering Committee
Prof. JK Garg
Professor, Environment Management
University School of Environment Management
GGS Indraprastha University
Sec 16C, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078, India
Phone: +91-9313583845; +91-11-25302371 (Office)
Email: gargjk@gmail.com
For local logistics, please contact Prof. Garg; Email:gargjk@gmail.com
Dr. Shibendu S. Ray, Director , Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC)
Ministry of Agriculture, Near Krishi Vistar Sadan,
IARI Pusa Campus, New Delhi-110012, India
Phone: 9871963449 Email: shibendu.ray@gmail.com
Prof. Vinay K. Sehgal,
Professor, Division of Agricultural Physics,
ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi – 110 012
Phone: 9899034144 Email : vksehgal@gmail.com
Meeting Participation (by Invitation Only)
Day 1 (2nd May, Tuesday)
Inaugural Session
10:00 Inauguration (GGS Indraprastha University team, India)
10:10 Welcome address and GGS Indraprastha University Information – Anubha Kaushik (Dean, GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India)
10:25 Welcome remarks – Garg J.K (GGS Indraprastha University, India)
10:40 Welcome remarks – Chris Justice (University of Maryland College Park, USA)
10:45 South/Southeast Asia Research Initiative (SARI) and meeting objectives - Krishna Vadrevu (NASA MSFC, USA) [SARI_Krishna.pdf]
11:00-11-05
Group Picture
11:05-11:35
Tea Break
11:35-12:55 Technical Session-I: Global/Regional Programs/Products; Chair: Garg J.K. (GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi)
Keynote Presentation (20-min Presentation)
11:35 Global Agricultural Monitoring International Coordination: GEOGLAM – Chris Justice (University of Maryland, USA) [Justice GEOGLAM India.pdf]
11:55 Operational mapping and monitoring of agricultural crops in India – Shibendu S. Ray (Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Center, India) [Shibendu S.pdf]
Technical Presentations (15-min Presentation; 5-min discussion)
12:15 GEOGLAM crop monitor for early warning: strengthening agricultural decision making across South/ Southeast Asia – Christina Justice (University of Maryland, USA) [Christina.pdf]
12:35 NASA SERVIR – Ashutosh Limaye (Skype presentation) (NASA MSFC, USA) [SERVIR_Ag_Ashutosh.pdf]
12:55 – 1:55 Lunch
1:55 NASA Earth exchange (NEX) enabling interdisciplinary research – Uttam Kumar and Rama Nemani (NASA AMES, USA) [Uttam.pdf]
2:15 Global food and water security-support analysis data (GFSAD) derived using satellite sensor data to ensure an evergreen revolution - Thenkabail Prasad (USGS, USA) [Thenkabail.pdf]
Technical Presentations (15-min Presentation; 5-min discussion)
2:35 Satellite based agriculture information system: An online solution – Dharamendra Singh (Indian Institute of Technology, Roorke, India)
2:55 SenseTube: A wireless sensing platform for precision agriculture – Surya Durbha (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India)
3:15 Developing rice measurement, reporting, and verification platforms using multi-source remote sensing and biogeochemical models - Nathan Torbick (Applied Geosolutions, USA) [Nathan_Torbick.pdf]
3:35-4:05
Tea Break
4:05 RIICE service – Earth observations - Franceso Holecz (SARMAP, Switzerland) [Franceso Holecz.pdf]
4:25 RIICE service - Crop yield modeling - Nasreen Khan (International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Phillippines
4:45 RIICE Service - Use of remote sensing technology in crop insurance in India – Manoj Yadav (GIZ, India) [RIICE-Manoj.pdf.pdf]
5:05 Operational agricultural drought assessment - Karan Chowdhury (Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Center, India) [Karan_Drought-_SARI.pdf]
5:25 Cropland products of South Asia for 2000-2014 derived using MODIS 250m time-series data based on spectral matching techniques (SMTs) – Gumma Murali Krishna (International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, India) [Murali.pdf]
Adjourn
10:00 – 12:30 Technical Session – III. Biophysical Parameter Retrievals, Crop Type, Area and Yield mapping/Monitoring. Chair: Shibendu Ray (Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Center, New Delhi)
Keynote Presentation (20-min Presentations)
10:00 Automated mapping and monitoring of wetlands for aqua crops – J.K.Garg (GGS Indraprastha University, India) [JKG_Wetlands_Aqua_crops.pdf]
10:20 Retrieval of plant biophysical parameters and phenology trends of croplands using satellite remote sensing: Case studies of India – Vinay Sehgal (Indian Agricultural Research Institute, India) [VKSehgal.pdf]
10:40-11:10
Tea Break
Technical Presentations (15-min Presentation; 5-min discussion)
11:10 Applications of mapping winter cropping patterns in India – Ruth De Fries (Columbia University, USA) [DeFries.pdf]
11:30 Crop type and area estimation using Landsat datasets – Christina Justice for Matt Hansen (University of Maryland College Park, USA) [Matt_Hansen.pdf]
11:50 Rice mapping in Red River Delta, Vietnam using Sentinel datasets – Krishna Vadrevu (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, USA) [SAR_final_krishna.pdf]
12:10 Use of SAR data for rice Assessment – Neetu (Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Center, India) [Neetu_SAR.pdf]
12:30-1:30
10:00 – 12:30 Technical Session – III. Biophysical Parameter Retrievals, Crop Type, Area and Yield mapping/Monitoring. Chair: Shibendu Ray (Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Center, New Delhi)
Technical Presentations (15-min Presentation; 5-min discussion)
1:30 Monitoring of rice crop in Afghanistan - Noorullah Stanikzai (Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan) [Noorullah_Stankzai.pdf]
1:50 Annual wheat area mapping for Afghanistan using Sentinel data and Google Earth Engine – Varun Tiwari and Mir Matin (ICIMOD, Nepal) [Varun.pdf]
2:10 Horticultural crop assessment using satellite data – Mamatha S. (Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Center, India) [Mamatha.pdf.pdf]
2:30 Large-scale yield mapping using moderate to high-resolution satellite imagery– Meha Jain (University of Michigan, USA) [Jain.pdf.pdf]
2:50 Crop yield forecasting using meteorological models - Singh, K.K. (India Meteorological Department, India) [Baxla.pdf.pdf]
3:10 Soft classification approaches for identification of agricultural crop: Problems and prospects using IRS multi-sensor remote sensing data – Anand Khobragade (Maharastra State Remote Sensing Center, India) [Anand.pdf.pdf]
3:30-4:00
Tea Break
4:00 Econometric model for crop forecasting - Nilabja Ghosh (Institute of Economic Growth, India) [Nila.pdf.pdf]
4:20 Agricultural resource management solutions for crop forecasting and drought assessment – Ashwin Thumma (IIC Technologies, India) [Ashwin_Tumma.pdf.pdf]
4:40-5:40 Panel Discussion – User Community Needs on Food Security and Agriculture in South/Southeast Asia. Chair: Ruth DeFries (Columbia U); Rapporteur: Meha Jain (University of Michigan, USA)
Adjourn
DAY 3 (4TH MAY, THURSDAY)
10:00-12:30 Technical Session - Regional Land and Agricultural Mapping/Monitoring Activities. Chair: Vinay Sehgal, IARI, New Delhi)
Tea Break
Keynote Presentation (15-min Presentations)
10:00 Remote Sensing of Agriculture at Space Applications Center, ISRO - Dr.Prakash Chauhan - ISRO [Prakash.pdf.pdf]
10:15 Deducing the Rice Crop Dynamics of South and Southeast Asia using Remote Sensing - Dr.Manjunath – Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) [Manjunath.pdf.pdf]
Technical Presentations (15-min Presentations)
10:30 Remote sensing applications in natural resources mapping and management- An Indian context – Obi Reddy (National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning) and Chaudhury, S.K (NRM Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi). [Reddy.pdf.pdf]
10:45-11:10
Tea Break
11:10 Agricultural applications using geospatial technology in Punjab, India – Pateria (Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, India)
11:25 Remote sensing applications in agriculture in Haryana State, India – Ramesh Hooda (Haryana Space Applications Center, India)
11:40 Mapping major crops using Sentinel images for Nepal - Nabin Kumar Yadav, Faisal Qamer, Mir Matin (ICIMOD, Nepal) [Nabin.pdf.pdf]
11:55 Remote sensing agricultural activities at CIMMT-Bangladesh- Mustafa Kamal (CIMMYT, Bangladesh)
12:10-1:30 Discussion Session – Satellite based Agricultural Research Needs and Next Steps South/Southeast Asia. Chair: Chris Justice (University of Maryland, College Park) and Rapporteur: Krishna Vadrevu
1:30 Vote of Thanks
Adjourn