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Introducing Remotely Sensed Irrigation Information into the USDA FAS Decision Support System
Investigators: PI Mutlu Ozdogan (U. Wisconsin), co-I Curt Reynolds (USDA/FAS)
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Abstract
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This project aims to develop high resolution, seasonal, and up-to-date information
on irrigation extent and acreage from NASA Earth Science observations to enhance
USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) Decision Support System.
The primary goal of FAS is to improve foreign market access to U.S. agricultural products
by providing accurate global crop production, supply, and demand estimates that are
of primary national importance.
To achieve these goals we propose a two-step remotely sensed data analysis and
transition activities proposal.
In the first part, new satellite remote sensing data sets provided by NASA's
MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and commercial Advanced Wide Field
Sensor (AWiFS) will be combined within non-parametric, tree-based classification models
to provide binary irrigation information at country scale.
In the second part, the proposed activities will be transitioned into an
operational tool within the FAS DSS during the latter half of the project year
in order to more quickly realize the return to society from NASA's research investments
in this project.
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NASA Products
MODIS, LandSat
Project Partners
The project will be jointly conducted by the center for
Sustainability And the Global Environment (SAGE)
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
Decision Support Tools
The USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) Decision Support System (DSS) will integrate
NASA Earth science research results to provide accurate estimates of global crop production,
supply, and demand in regions that are of primary national importance.
The ability to accurately identify and estimate irrigated agriculture
is especially important for countries where irrigated agriculture plays a dominant role
because yields on irrigated lands can be nearly twice or more than those on dryland
farmed areas. Moreover, a remote sensing based methodology that assesses irrigation
capacity in a season for large regions of a country such as Iraq with a large US
involvement is critical to assessing the success of development projects and the
capacity of Iraq to support itself. However, national- (and occasionally)
subnational-level information on irrigated acreage is not routinely available
and even if available, this information often tends to be flawed, outdated or
simply not useful in seasonal crop production estimates. The primary objective
of this project is to fill this gap in Iraq, identified by FAS as an important
priority area, using NASA Earth Science measurements and research results.
FAS has identified Iraq as a priority location where irrigation information from
remotely sensed data sources would be immediately and most beneficial.
Iraq has a rich farming heritage and agriculture is the second largest contributor
to the country's GDP. Approximately seventy percent of the country's cultivated
area is irrigated and predominantly located in the central and southern regions.
The remaining cultivated area in the northern region of the "fertile crescent"
is mostly rainfed with crop yield being highly dependent upon the timing and amount
of seasonal precipitation and temperature. During times of drought, the country
relies on irrigation to supplement the reduced crop production expected in
rainfed areas. In addition, a large part of the population depends on the
irrigation for watering livestock and for domestic use.
During the former regime, Iraq's irrigation infrastructure had fallen into
disrepair due to a lack of canal maintenance, intermittent power supply
for pumping stations, and soil salinity problems. Several development agencies
have implemented irrigation projects such as the USAID funded
Agricultural Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq
( ARDI )
to repair, improve, and extend the current infrastructure.
Development projects such as ARDI highly affect crop production, and therefore,
the food supply and economic vitality of the nation.
Key components to any development project are to compare the current state
to a baseline and to provide a definitive measurement of success since
project implementation. A true need for this information has been expressed
by both foreign and country officials in Iraq. Due to the difficulty and risk
of collecting ground-truth in Iraq, it has been proposed that remotely sensed data
can be used to analyze the current state of Iraq's irrigation infrastructure and
geographically locate areas of change since project implementation and provide
quantitative results of noticeable change.
Reports
