Space Age AgriTech for Indian Farmers

On August 23, 2025 observed as National Space Day, celebrating the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, highlighted how space technology has become a cornerstone of Indian agriculture. He noted that India's record food production in recent years owes much to the use of space technology, which now supports almost every stage of farming — from weather forecasting and soil moisture monitoring to crop yield estimation, pest detection, and disaster management.

- Narayan Kulkarni

Through ISRO's geoportals, farmers now receive near-accurate information on rainfall, drought, and crop health. This enables them to make smarter decisions on sowing, crop selection, and risk management. Satellite-based remote sensing has also improved the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) by making crop loss assessments more transparent and ensuring fairer, faster claim settlements. Under the PMFBY, space technology is being extensively used for smart sampling in crop-cutting experiments (CCEs), yield estimation, and dispute resolution related to crop losses. Earlier, crop insurance often faced challenges of flawed estimates and delayed claims.