FASAL

Geography glossary

Also called: Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land based observations · Topic: Remote Sensing, GIS and GNSS · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

FASAL stands for Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land based observations. It is a programme that forecasts how much of the major crops India will harvest, before the harvest. It combines satellite images of crop area and health with weather data and ground checks. Satellites can tell crops apart by their spectral signature, the way each surface reflects light. Healthy crops reflect a lot of near infrared (NIR), light just beyond visible red. Early forecasts help the government plan food stocks, imports and prices. The Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) in New Delhi runs it.

Example

MNCFC uses satellite images to measure the area under wheat across the plains of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. It then forecasts the wheat crop for the season before farmers begin harvesting.

Don't confuse with

  • NDVI: a single index, (NIR − Red) ÷ (NIR + Red), that shows how green and healthy plants are. FASAL is a whole forecasting programme that uses tools like NDVI along with weather and field data.

Related concepts

Read more