Anand: Anand Agricultural University (AAU) is in the process of establishing a precision farming center as part of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The state agriculture university is collaborating with the Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, to gain insights for the development of this center.

According to AAU’s Vice-Chancellor KB Kathiria, SAC in Ahmedabad is a collaborating agency in this endeavor, utilizing satellite data along with machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a model that enhances the accuracy of price forecasting while considering multiple parameters. This collaboration with SAC will also provide valuable insights for the forthcoming precision farming center.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AAU and SAC, ISRO, encompasses research activities related to satellite data applications for undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students, as well as faculty members. Kathiria highlighted that AAU has been closely collaborating with SAC for the past 33 years on various applications of space technology in agriculture, with numerous projects completed in areas such as crop acreage estimation, soil moisture assessment, microwave applications, hyperspectral applications, modeling of photosynthetically active radiation, and more. DeshGujarat