Karnataka Launches AI-Powered Digital Crop Survey Initiative

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Thursday launched the Composite Digital Crop Survey, a technology-driven initiative to improve the accuracy and reliability of agricultural data. The programme integrates satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, drones and other advanced technologies with the state's existing Digital Crop Survey system to support evidence-based policymaking.

A stakeholder workshop on the initiative was organised by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance) in collaboration with the Revenue, Agriculture, Horticulture, Sericulture, Fisheries and IT-BT departments at the CAAS Officers' Research and Training Centre in Bengaluru, a statement said.

"The use of emerging digital technologies is essential to strengthen the crop survey process, improve the accuracy of agricultural data, and support evidence-based governance and effective policymaking," Principal Secretary, Department of e-Governance, Pankaj Kumar Pandey said while inaugurating the workshop.

The government said Karnataka has been implementing the Digital Crop Survey since 2018 through a GIS-based mobile application to collect authenticated plot-level crop data.

The Composite Digital Crop Survey builds on the existing system by using high-resolution satellite imagery, Synthetic Aperture Radar, drone surveys, GIS data, AI and Machine Learning to improve the accuracy and reliability of crop data.

As part of the rollout, the government will implement the Composite Digital Crop Survey on a pilot basis in five selected hoblis representing all geographical divisions of the state.

According to the statement, the workshop brought together policymakers, technical experts, research institutions and technology partners to deliberate on the framework for implementing the survey.

The Department of e-Governance, the Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre and the National Remote Sensing Centre made presentations on the project's technical framework, infrastructure requirements, implementation strategy and technology integration.

Private technology companies and startups showcased their technical capabilities and implementation methodologies, while experts, government officials and industry partners took part in interactive panel discussions.

The workshop outlined the roadmap for deploying the technology-driven digital crop survey system across the state.