In two years, farmers in Maharashtra beset with energy and economic woes could find a new solution: Jatropha curcas. With a dual goal of boosting the village economy and helping farmers fulfil their own energy needs, a research project funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the University of Pune’s Geography department is harnessing remote sensing technology to identify suitable wastelands for cultivation of the perennial biodiesel-generating plant. Launched a year ago, the project will be completed within one-and-a-half years.

The project aims at preparing a taluka-wise digital map of the state detailing potential land for cultivation, along with information on the possible productivity of each land depending on its unique agro-climatic conditions, and suggestions for the location of the processing systems. If successful, the project could become a model for implementation in other states.

The research team led by principal investigator Vrishali Deosthali has been studying the spectral profile of images to digitally classify various categories of wastelands like ravines, saline waterlogged land, or degraded pastures.

“A priority during the study will be to avoid encroaching of forest or farm land for jatropha cultivation,” said Deosthali. While forest and farmland can be recognised by the unique spectral profile recorded by the remote sensors, these will be segregated to specify the wasteland cover.

The remote sensor data is then corroborated with ground truth data collected during extensive field visits conducted in May this year, to nearly 100 talukas covering 4000 kilometres in the state. “This ground truth data includes latitude and longitudinal coordinates of the wastelands, determined using the GPS,” said Deosthali.

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