Context: Recently, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) launched the mobile application and the web portal for GCES (General Crop Estimation Survey).

About the mobile application & web portal for GCES

• Aim: to transform agricultural practices across the nation by providing the real time estimates and technology in agriculture. 

• Comprehensive Information: The portal and the app provide a comprehensive repository of yield estimation including village wise GCES plan and plot details where the crop cutting experiments are conducted, post harvesting crop weight and driage weight of the crop.

• Geo-referencing: It is one of the key features of the mobile application, which enables the primary worker to draw the boundary of the experimental plot and upload photos of the plot as well as of the crops through it. This feature will ensure transparency and accuracy of the data as well.

• Georeferencing- the internal coordinate system of a digital map or aerial photo can be related to a ground system of geographic coordinates.

• State government have to adopt it in order to ensure accuracy of the data for reliable outcome generation. 

• Developed by: Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare

• The automation of the GCES process will ensure real time reporting of crop statistics.

Challenges addressed

• Delay in Reporting: the field data will now be collected using GPS (Global Positioning System) enabled mobile application and will be stored in the server which ensures on time reporting of crop statistics.

• Transparency: GPS enabled devices provide precise latitude and longitude coordinates for data collection points, which will help ensure that data is linked to specific geographic locations, leaving lesser chances of ambiguity or manipulation.

About the General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES)

• GCES is the estimates of crop production obtained by multiplying the area under crop and the yield rate based on scientifically designed crop cutting experiments.

• It covers around 68 crops (52 food and 16 non-food) in 22 States and 4 Union Territories.