Pakistan opens its first satellite remote sensing lab for crop monitoring

On 20th May 2014, Agriculture Secretary Ahmed Bakhsh Narejo celebrated the inaugural ceremony of Pakistan's first 'satellite remote-sensing laboratory' at the crop reporting services centre functioning in the agriculture extension division office.

This lab was established in collaboration with the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The objective of this laboratory is crop monitoring, forecasting and estimation around the year through satellite remote sensing technology to ensure the ground realities in a scientific manner.

The setup abetment in analyzing the quality of crops, empower estimation of yields and grant information on prevailing conditions in different agriculture areas to help planners, policymakers and end-users take suitable measures to uphold quality of crop.

In this setup, primarily activities are restricted to monitoring the main cash crops, including wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane. Its working could be enhanced in future.

This setup would ensure accuracy of agricultural data. Suparco Director Abdul Ghafoor and Manager Hayat Khan gave a technical presentation about "monitoring crops through satellite technology".