ISRO Uses Satellites to Estimate Record Wheat Production in India

The Indian space agency, in a pilot study, has estimated the total wheat production from eight major wheat-growing states to be at 122.724 million tons as on March 31, 202,5, with the help of its satellite-generated data.

Satellites Help to Estimate India’s Wheat Production at 122.724 Million Tons

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it used the Optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing datasets from EOS-04 (RISAT-1A), EOS-06 (Oceansat-3), and Resourcesat-2A, for the Rabi season (October-March), 2024-25.

ISRO monitored the sowing progress of the wheat crop across eight Indian states – Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra- during the 2024-25 Rabi season.

The space agency said the wheat sown area derived from satellite data by 31st March 2025 stands at 330.8 lakh hectares, which is close to the statistics generated by the Indian Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (324.38 lakh hectares) as on February 4, 2025.

In an experimental assessment of wheat production, at the national scale, assimilated satellite-derived parameters (crop area, sowing date information, in-season crop condition) in a process-based crop growth simulation model at 5km × 5km spatial resolution.

Based on a multi-source data integration, ISRO has projected a wheat production of 122.24 million ton in the eight major wheat-growing states as of March 31, 2025.

The multi-source data integration is expected to enhance the accuracy of production estimation at a finer spatial level, supporting precise and scalable estimation of Wheat production. The total Wheat production from eight major wheat-growing states of India as on 31st March 2025 is estimated to be 122.724 million tonnes.

According to ISRO, the study demonstrates a methodology for near real-time, in-season monitoring of crop sown and harvested areas using multi-source satellite data.

This approach also includes progressive mapping of wheat crop area and production estimation. This pilot implementation of the framework serves as a Proof-of-Concept, highlighting the potential for operational scalability.

The methodology is subject to further refinement and automation to enhance accuracy and timeliness, ultimately aiming to support informed decision-making in agricultural planning and food security at the national level, ISRO said.